Hikari no Game
by geminicastor
Summary: It's been 5 years and they were gone for good, right? No. Yami, Bakura, and Marik are back, but this time, something is different about them. 5 years in the shadow realm does that to a person. But Ryou and Malik won't hear anything about it. Can Bakura and Marik convince their lighter halves that a man really can change? Thiefshipping, deathshipping, side puzzleshipping. COMPLETED
1. Chapter 1

It's been five years, and everything was different now, but would it be for long?

The old group had dissipated, most of them moving to the US to pursue different careers. The only ones that had stayed in Japan were Yugi, Ryou, and the Kaibas. Malik had moved to Japan about 3 years ago as well, sharing an apartment with Ryou. Everyone else had gone their separate ways after high school. It was crazy. Whatever happened to their "friendship bond"?

Yugi owned the game shop now, it being the most popular game shop in all of Asia. People traveled from all over the world to challenge him, but Yugi hadn't lost a duel in the five years he'd been separated from Yami. But he had to admit, he definitely missed his best friend. He didn't get out much, being busy with the shop or tournaments, but sometimes Ryou and Malik would come visit. Seto was busy with his company the majority of the time, but Mokuba would stop by sometimes. It was a lonely life.

Ryou and Malik were the best of friends now. They had gone through a lot of the same abuse and torment so they ended up bonding through their new found freedom. They both enjoyed the same tv shows and they got a job at the same place (ironically, Kaiba Corp). They spent all of their time together, but there was a reason for that.

Both of them were still terrified of their "darker halves". They slept in the same room so that one could comfort the other in case of bad dreams. They never turned the lights off all the way, being scared of the dark. Or more specifically, the Shadow Realm. The two were inseparable because they were still scared of running into their other sides alone. They couldn't bare that.

But they hadn't come back, and it's been five years. Surely they were gone for good this time.

Right?


	2. Chapter 2

It was dark, as usual. It's always dark in the shadow realm.

"Baku, are you there?" a deep voice called out. Bakura, the "thief-king", sighed in response, but he was glad that the other had stopped humming. It was getting rather annoying.

"Where else would I be? Idiot." It was so dark that Bakura couldn't see his hand if it was in front of his face. Sometimes he wondered if he had a body at all, but the pain that shivered through his body was more than enough proof that he had some sort of physical form.

"What are you doing?" the deep voice asked innocently.

"Are we really still going through this?" Bakura huffed. "I'm not doing anything. I'm never doing anything. You know that."

"Yeah, well, I still think it's nice to make conversation," the voice said, before continuing to hum a small song. The voice actually belonged to one of the most notorious villains to ever threaten Japan, and the world for that matter. Marik. A dark soul, born of hatred. So why was the terrifying, blood thirsty villain humming to himself in the everlasting darkness?

The shadow realm sure could have a strange effect on certain people. After spending so much time thinking in the darkness, Marik had suddenly had a complete change of heart. The evil, terrifying man was suddenly innocent and simple-minded. He was still very smart, but just didn't seem to use his brain like he used to. He preferred being simple and nice, even though it seemed to annoy Bakura at times.

"Do I annoy you, Baku?" he suddenly asked.

"Yes," the other replied simply.

"No, I mean like really!" Marik said. "Its always so dark and gross and painful in here. Isn't it at least a little bit better to have someone share it with you?"

"Sure, Marik, whatever," Bakura said, trying to get Marik to just shut up. He would never admit it, but he was actually glad that the other was there. He would've gone crazy if he wasn't so busy listening to the crazy ramblings of the new Marik.

Marik opened his mouth to ask another question, but before he could, something different happened. And nothing ever happened here.

A golden light filled through the darkness, causing both of the captured souls to duck their heads and hide their eyes from the light. And when Bakura was finally able to open his eyes, he didn't know what to think.

He was laying in a hospital bed, the bright, white light making him sneer angrily. But he was just glad to breathe clean air and feel things that weren't pain and misery. He lifted his hand slowly, staring at it and moving his fingers. He had bandages on his arms and he could feel some more on his chest and face.

"Marik," he mumbled, more to himself than to anyone else. A nurse suddenly appeared, bringing a tray of food with her.

"Good morning, sir," she said, smiling at him.

"What's going on?" Bakura asked her, trying to sit up, but hissing out in pain and leaning back down.

"It's ok, please try and rest," the nurse said. "I brought you some soft foods to eat. You're very malnourished."

"What is going on?" he asked again, getting impatient.

"You were found in a back alley with two other boys," she explained, setting the tray down next to him. "You and another one of the boys had severe injuries. The other was cleared to go with a friend."

"Two others?" Bakura mumbled. One had to be Marik, but what about the other?

"Yes," the nurse said. "The one with the injuries is still resting, so I don't know his name. The other said his name was...Atem I believe?" The Pharaoh?! "Do you have someone you would like to call?"

"No, well, actually yes. But I don't know the number," Bakura said. "The Kame game shop. Do you know who runs it?"

"That's the same place that the Atem boy called," the nurse chuckled. "It's run by the famous Yugi Mutou. The king of games."

"Ha! He still goes by that?" Bakura laughed, raising an eyebrow. "Well yes, I'd like you to tell him that Bakura and Marik are here and will be needing somewhere to stay." He had no idea if the little Yugi would show up and let them stay in his house. Of course they had been horrible to the group of friends, but Bakura and Marik are changed now. They were different.

Hopefully, Yugi would believe him.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi guys! This is Gem. :) I know I haven't posted a "hello" yet, so I'll do a little short one before continuing the story below. **

**1\. Thanks for reading! :D I haven't been on in years (I moved to ) but now I'm back! I KNOW I have improved so don't judge my skills by my old stories. **

**2\. Speaking of old stories, I will not be updating ANY of my old stories, so don't ask. I'm sorry. None of those stories have an end in my mind. :(**

**3\. My pen name used to be Kibei Maboroshini but I decided to start using my stage name as a pen name when I moved to AFF. That's Gemini Castor, so if you listen to Japanese covers on youtube, you might know me. ;D **

**Ok. That's enough for now. So go ahead and read the next chapter! Thanks. :3**

Yugi was sitting on the counter of the Kame game shop, speechless. In front of him, eating like he hadn't eaten in years, was his long lost friend. The Pharaoh. Atem.

"So...say something?" Atem said, finishing his ramen and putting it down. Yugi was a lot taller than the last time Atem had seen him. In fact, they were almost the same height.

"Um. Well, I'm not sure what's really going on," Yugi stated, resting his chin on his hands. "Nothing has happened that would alert me to your sudden appearance, so I don't know why you would be here."

"Me either," Atem sighed. "It wouldn't be a problem if those two hadn't have come back too. And with their own bodies, who knows what trouble they'll cause?"

"I don't even want to think about that," Yugi said, trying to ignore the terrifying thoughts that ran through his head. "But they were in even worse shape than you, so they won't be out of the hospital for awhile."

"At least that makes sense. I was just in the afterlife, but they've spent five years in the shadow realm. That's no easy feat." Atem stood up and stretched. "I'm surprised they made it out alive."

At that moment, the Kame shop phone rang loudly, making Atem jump, clutching his heart. Yugi chuckled slightly before picking up the phone.

"Kame game shop. This is Yugi Mutou," he said, sounding like a professional. Atem was impressed. But suddenly, he tensed up and started stuttering.

"U-um. I-I don't know," he mumbled. "I don't think I- I mean...that's not such a good idea."

"Who is it?" Atem asked, scooting closer and trying to hear anything that the other person was saying.

"I-I'll think about it," Yugi said after a few seconds. "I said maybe! I have to talk to Atem about it first." There was another pause on Yugi's end. "Yes. I know I have a backbone now." Then he abruptly hung up, dropping his head into his hands and heaving a sigh.

"Who the hell was it?!" Atem exclaimed, throwing his hands up.

"Bakura," Yugi practically spat the word like venom. "He just woke up and says that he and...M-Marik will be needing a place to stay."

"No! No way!" Atem said firmly, balling his fists up.

"Well that's what I was going to say, but he says they're different now," Yugi sighed, still not raising his head up.

"Who cares what he says?"

"Again, that's how I felt, but then he...apologized. For everything." That caught Atem off guard, as it had Yugi when it had happened.

"Bakura, the thief king? Apologized?!" Atem asked, extremely confused.

"Yeah...I know," Yugi said, finally looking up at his best friend. "I guess we should go talk to them." He couldn't even say that without wincing. Those two that were stuck in the hospital had done a lot of damage to Yugi in the past. Atem could sense his ex-hosts distress. It had been five years, but their bond was still strong.

"We don't have to if you don't want to," Atem said with his gentle smile. Yugi thought for a moment but shook his head.

"No, it's ok," he said. "We have to give them a chance. It's been five years, but we should be able to tell if they're lying."

"Ok, you're the boss," Atem chuckled, making Yugi laugh.

"Come on," Yugi said, "I'll close the shop and we'll head back to the hospital. I'm just glad that you weren't badly hurt. You could still be stuck in the hospital."

"But I'm not, so let's get going and see what's up with them." Yugi nodded and they closed the shop before heading out the door.

"Malik! We're going to be late if you don't get down here!" Ryou was in the living room of the relatively spacious apartment, sipping slowly on a cup of tea. He was dressed and ready for work, but of course, Malik was still upstairs sleeping, but now, Ryou could hear loud shuffling.

"I'm coming! I'm coming! I'm coming!" Malik was yelling from their room. "Don't leave! Don't leave! Don't leave!"

"Ok! Ok! Ok!" Ryou replied, laughing to himself. The ex-tombkeeper could sleep for ages and was so frazzled when he does finally wake up. Ryou finished his tea and placed the empty cup on the table before standing up and leaning against the front door. "Come on, tombkeeper!"

"Coming, cream puff!" Malik retorted, rushing down the hallway and sliding into the kitchen. A second later, he slid back into the living room and ran for the front door. Ryou merely moved out of the way and let Malik run past before running out after him, laughing.

Yes, life was good with his best friend. Sure there were times when he got nightmares. Sure, he had occasional panic attacks, usually when the power went out or if he and Malik got separated. But life was good now and it seemed like it would be that way for the rest of forever.

Because Bakura was never coming back and Ryou was free from him.

Right?


	4. Chapter 4

**Welcome back! Time for three more facts on me, although I'm running out of interesting things because...I'm not interesting XD**

**1\. The k-pop fanfics I write are all Nu'est. Some EXO. And the occasional BAP. **

**2\. If you've read my k-pop fanfics, then you know...I write a lot of...smut. Yes I know. I'm terrible.**

**3\. I'm old enough to legally write smut now! Haha! So I don't call it lemons anymore, because that's just weird.**

**Ok! That's enough about me. Here's the next chapter! Please, please comment! **

"And that's the full story?" Yugi asked, looking skeptical.

"Yep," Bakura replied. He was sitting up in the hospital bed, a tray of random food placed across his lap. He looked atrocious, his face thinned out and his arms? Skin and bone. Yugi was sitting next to the bed in a hard, plastic chair, listening to Bakura intently. Atem, on the other hand, wasn't letting his guard down. He was standing behind Yugi's chair, his arms crossed as he stared down the weakened thief king, angrily.

"Calm down, pharaoh," Bakura sighed, taking a french fry and biting it in half. "I can barely move. Not that I give a rats ass about revenge anyways." Atem just glared firmly, so Yugi decided to try and change the subject slightly.

"There's only one part of your story that I don't believe," he said, leaning back and thinking to himself. "And that's Marik."

"What about him?" Bakura asked, shoving the rest of the french fry in his mouth and grabbing another one.

"He's psychotic. There's no way that he's, well, innocent." Bakura sighed, sitting up again and stretching, a grimace of pain spreading across his face. He settled back down and pointed the french fry at Yugi.

"Think about it, pipsqueak," he said, despite Yugi not being so small anymore. "Marik was born of a child's hate, so take away that hate, and all that's left is is the child." It was Yugi's turn to grimace now.

"That's weird to think about," he muttered.

"Well obviously he isn't actually a child," Bakura scoffed. "He's more like a really happy, funny, and really fucking annoying person!" Bakura paused to shove another fry in his mouth. Then seemed to think of another thing to say on the subject. "He's still a pervert though." Yugi raised an eyebrow, frowning.

"Well I guess we should talk to him and compare stories," Atem said. "Yugi may not say it, but I don't trust you. Don't you dare misuse his good heart!" Yugi stood up, putting a calming hand on Atem's shoulder.

"Stop it," he said. "It's been five years. He's in no shape to get up and do anything bad. Put it behind you for a little bit." Atem pouted, which looked funny on a man of his age, but nodded his head none the less. "You too, Bakura!"

"Hey! I already said I'm done with it!" the thief exclaimed, hands up in defense. "I only have two things on my mind, and that's finding a place to stay and finding Ryou." Yugi tensed up slightly when he heard that.

"Ryou? What do you want with Ryou?" he asked, a worried expression plastered across his face.

"I need to see him. That's all," Bakura shrugged, placing the now empty tray on the bedside table.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Yugi said quickly. "He hasn't been, um...he hasn't been doing completely well since, you know."

"That's why I have to see him," Bakura said, frowning and crossing his arms. "And while I won't require you to let me stay in your little game shop, I won't take no for an answer about Ryou." Yugi just sighed, deciding to drop the topic before anyone got angry.

"Come on," Yugi said to Atem. "Let's go see if Marik is up yet."

"Probably not," Bakura chuckled. "That idiot can sleep through anything." Yugi ignored him and the two left the room, closing the door behind them. Across the hall, they could see the unconscious form of the tall Egyptian and suddenly, Yugi couldn't move. He could practically see the dark purple swirls of the shadow realm closing in and suffocating him. Before he could scream, he felt a warm hand on his back.

"Yugi," Atem said, calming him down instantly. "I told you, we don't have to do this."

"Yes, we do," Yugi said, shaking his head. "I'm not weak anymore, so I know I can stand up to him." Atem nodded and they stepped into Marik's hospital room, shutting the door before facing their enemy. He looked calm, breathing steadily, almost snoring. Yugi walked half way towards the bed, pausing.

"M-Marik? Can you hear me?" he mumbled, trying to keep his knees from shaking. Suddenly, he heard Atem chuckling next to him.

"Yugi, I'm right next to you and I can't hear you," he said, laughing. "Here, let me handle this." He walked up to Marik's bed, bending over to get a close look at the sleeping tomb keeper. Then, he reached out, grabbing a hold of Marik's frail shoulders and giving him a single shake.

"WAKE UP YOU ASSHOLE!" he yelled. Yugi stared, mouth gaping.

"A-Atem!" he exclaimed, not knowing what else to say, but as Atem turned to look back at Yugi, the unconscious body in his hands shuddered, causing Atem to jump backwards, a protective arm stretched in front of Yugi.

Marik's eyes suddenly flew open, blinking in the bright light of the hospital room. He turned his head, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Then, his eyes landed on Atem and Yugi, blinking again.

"You..?" he muttered slowly, then he sat up, ignoring the pain shuddering across his body and pulled the blanket up to his neck. "You! Where's Bakura?!" Both Yugi and Atem were too stunned to answer and this caused Marik to get even more worked up. "Where is he?! What's going on? Bakura!"

"Calm down, Marik!" Yugi exclaimed, rushing over to the hospital bed and trying to calm down the frantic man. "Bakura is across the hall, he's ok. You're ok!" Marik was still glancing around, eyes full of distrust. "I promise you, it's ok. You're in the hospital."

"How did I get here? Let me see Kura!" he exclaimed, bottom lip poking out slightly.

"You both need your rest, but I'm sure you'll be able to see him in a little bit," Yugi said, trying to sound as comforting as possible. He could definitely tell that something was extremely different about Marik, despite how tall and dangerous he looked. "Listen. We need to know what's the last thing you remember." Marik's frown deepened.

"Darkness," he said, like it was an obvious thing. "That's it. Darkness and Bakura. I want to see Bakura!"

"I promise that you can," Yugi said. "We'll let you rest first. The nurse will bring you food and you have to eat it. Then you can see Bakura."

"Promise?" Marik asked, still frowning. Yugi nodded.

"I promise," he said. He definitely believed Bakura's story now. Only the shadow realm could do this sort of change to the blood thirsty psycho they had known. "Get rest."

Then, Yugi walked out of the room, mouth twisted in confusion as Atem followed him. Atem's eyes were wide.

"That...was weird," he said, not really knowing what else to say but Yugi was at a loss for words.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys. I don't really have anything much to say right now :P Please comment! Tell me what's up. That kind of thing. **

"Ryou Bakura?" a voice called over the intercom. "Ryou Bakura, you have a call on line 4." Ryou frowned, glancing up from his computer. Hm, what could that be? It couldn't be about work or else they would've transferred it to his phone.

"Hurry up, Ryou!" Malik said, looking up from his own computer. "I can't do all of this crap on my own." The both of them worked in the duel monsters 'help' section of Kaiba Corp, answering phone calls about different types of duel monsters, replying to emails about strategies. Things of that sort.

"I hope there isn't anything wrong," Ryou sighed, stretching before picking up his phone and punching the code for line 5. "Hello?" For a few seconds, only dark silence answered him. But then he heard it. A voice that haunted his every nightmare, twisting in his ear like a knife. Specifically, a knife that had twisted in his arm.

"Ryou? Is that really you?" the voice said. No, no! It's not real! He's dead!

Ryou couldn't speak.

"Ryou?" the voice muttered, confirming Ryou's deepest fear. Before the voice could say anything else, Ryou slammed the phone down, hands shaking and eyes wide with fright. Malik instantly noticed his friend's fear.

"Hey! Calm down!" Malik said, reaching out and gripping Ryou's shoulder, trying to comfort him. "It's ok. Who was it? Why did you hang up so fast?" Ryou was still shaking, staring straight ahead and not hearing anything that Malik was saying. But before Malik could do anything, Ryou's eyes rolled back and he feinted. Malik caught him before he could hit the floor.

"Ryou! Ryou, wake up!" he yelled. Next to him, a woman was calling for an ambulance, but Malik didn't feel like waiting. His friend was passed out and that hadn't happened for over 5 years, so instead of waiting around, he picked Ryou up and turned to the woman. "I'm sorry, but I have to make sure he's ok. I'll come back tomorrow and I hope Ryou will be better by then. I'm sorry!"

And with that, he ran out the door, the woman nodding that it was ok and she hoped Ryou would be fine. But Malik wasn't listening. He was just focused on getting to the hospital as quickly as possible.

Yugi was laying down in the waiting room, staring over at Atem who just stared back.

"Well now what?" the pharaoh asked. "That psychopath is, well he still seems pretty crazy, but he seems almost like he's weak."

"I know what you mean," Yugi replied. "The way he was calling out for Bakura was really worrisome. But I guess it kind of proves that Bakura was telling the truth. Should we trust them?" Atem frowned instantly at the question, answering it for Yugi. "Ok, well I think we should give them a chance."

"Yugi! Have you forgotten already?" Atem exclaimed. "This could be an elaborate trick!"

"Well, I think that holding a grudge would cause problems," Yugi said, leaning back and staring up at the ceiling. "I mean, Bakura held a grudge for so long that it drove him insane. So why should we start holding grudges?"

"It's your house, Yugi," Atem sighed, rubbing his temple gently. "But I'm not letting my guard down around them. Ever."

At that moment, a hospital gurney rolled through the waiting room, quickly going towards the other rooms. It moved so quickly that they couldn't see who was laying on it, but they saw the person who was running after it.

"Malik?" Yugi called, immediately jumping up. Malik froze at the sound of his name and turned to see Yugi running towards him.

"Thank Gods you're here!" Malik said, his voice still showing panic. "Ryou just feinted at work. I brought him here as quickly as possible, but I'm really worried!"

"Ryou?" Yugi mumbled, then he remembered. Bakura wanted to see Ryou. What if this is something he did? That's when Atem walked up to join the conversation, but maybe that wasn't such a good idea to do without warning.

"Woah! Pharaoh?" Malik asked. "Is that really you?" On instinct, he gave a half bow, his left foot sliding slightly in front of his right foot. Atem chuckled.

"Just call me Atem now," he replied with a smile. "I'm not a pharaoh in today's world, so there's no need for such formalities."

"Of course," Malik said, standing up straight. "Force of habit, I guess. But what are you doing here? You should be in the afterlife." Yugi gave a warning glance to Atem, hoping their connection was still strong enough to get the message across. Thankfully, Atem didn't mention either Bakura or Marik. If he had, Yugi was sure Malik would immediately go into shock.

"I'm not really sure how I got here," Atem merely said. "But I'm glad to see so many old friends still in the area."

"Well I'm sure Ryou would love to say hi, when he wakes up that is," Malik sighed. He was extremely worried now. Ryou didn't budge at all while Malik carried him to the hospital. Luckily it wasn't that far away from the KC main office, but what could that phone call have been?

"I'm sure he'll be fine," Yugi said, sensing Malik's worry. "You know him. He bounces back from everything with a smile even bigger than the one he had before."

"Yeah, I'm sure he will," Malik smiled. "Thanks, Yugi. I'm going to go check on him and ask the nurse if she knows anything. I'll talk to you later!" And with that, he was off, leaving Yugi and Atem alone. They turned to each, each with a serious expression.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Yugi asked. "Let's pay another visit to Bakura and see what he has to say about Ryou." Atem nodded and they set off.


	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you so much for reviewing! It really makes me want to keep writing as fast as possible~ I really like this story as well, that's why I'm doing daily upates right now. :3 I know there isn't ANY shipping going on right now, but I'm setting it up! It'll happen soon!**

**This chapter is kind of lame in my opinion, but the next one is where Malik talks to Bakura for the first time~ ;)**

Ryou blinked slowly, his head feeling like it was about to explode. He rubbed his eyes gently so they would focus in the bright light. A hospital room?

"Ryou! You're awake!" a loud and familiar voice called out.

"Malik?" Ryou mumbled, sitting up. "What am I doing in a hospital?"

"You feinted at Kaiba Corp," Malik said, sitting on the edge of the hospital bed. "The nurses said everything is normal. You just went into shock. What happened on the phone?" That's when Ryou remembered.

"Oh no," he sighed, his lip quivering in fear. "The phone! I heard him! It was him! Tell me this is a dream, Malik!"

"What?" Malik asked, confused. "Who? Was it your father?" Ryou shook his head.

"Worse," he said, pressing his fingers against his temples in an attempt to quiet his pounding headache. That's when Malik caught on, jumping up off of the bed.

"No way! Do you think it was really him?" Malik asked, eyes wide. "Wait! I saw the pharaoh just now! He was in the hallway!" Ryou thought he was going to feint again.

"T-the pharaoh? If he's here, then it must be true," Ryou sighed, tears appearing in the corners of his eyes. This had to be a bad dream! "Malik! I can't do this! I can't do this!" His pulse started to raise and the machine hooked to his arm started beeping frantically. A nurse rushed in seconds later, checking the machines before giving Ryou a small shot. The machine stopped beeping and Ryou collapsed back on the bed, breathing heavily but he appeared to be sleeping now.

"I'm sorry, sir," the nurse said. "We're going to have to ask you to leave so that he can rest. He just went into shock again. I don't suggest taking him out of the hospital until you find out what's triggering his attacks."

"Well I think I have an idea, but I'm going to go investigate on it," Malik said, frowning. "I'm going to stay in the hospital though, so if he asks for me, just page. I'll be here in an instant."

"Of course," the nurse smiled. "You two must be very good friends. I'm sure he'll be fine, especially with a friend like you by his side."

"Let's hope so," Malik said, turning and exiting the room. He would have to ask the pharaoh some more questions.

Yugi opened the door to Bakura's room, a firm frown in place. He found the ex-thief in the same place, but with another tray of food on his lap. This one had several different options of meat on it.

"Ah, welcome back, miniature pharaoh," Bakura said, putting down his fork which had a rather large piece of steak on it. "Is Marik up?"

"Yes, but that's not what we're here to talk about," Atem said, following Yugi inside and shutting the door. He narrowed his eyes as he leaned against the door, hands shoved in his pockets. "What did you do to Ryou?"

"Ryou?" Bakura asked, his eyes suddenly furrowing in confusion. "Why? What happened to him?"

"He's in the hospital now," Yugi sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "Malik said he feinted at work. Now we aren't blaming you, but we're trying to find out what happened."

"I'm blaming him," Atem muttered, rolling his eyes, but Yugi elbowed him roughly in the ribs.

"Well, the truth is, it is probably my fault," Bakura said, leaning back. He looked troubled as he glared at the wall in front of him. "I called him."

"What?" Yugi exclaimed, balling his fists up tightly. "I told you that was a bad idea! No wonder he's gone into shock!"

"Well I didn't know he would freak out," Bakura tried to defend himself. "I just wanted to apologize to him, that's all!"

"I told you," Yugi sighed, collapsing onto the plastic hospital chair. "He hasn't been doing well. He has severe anxiety and panic attacks. I would too if I Atem had used me repeatedly and even stabbed me in the arm!" Bakura was taken back, guilt twisting in his stomach. He glared away from the two spikey haired men, trying to ignore the immense amount of pain he felt.

"I know," he finally mumbled, setting his tray of meat down on the bedside table and staring down at his hands. "Can you leave? I want to be alone now." The sudden change in Bakura's tone was frightening to Yugi. He sounded so upset and worried.

"Yeah, I guess," he said. "But we'll be back soon. Marik wants to see you, so we'll take you to him in a little bit. I don't think he's ready to be moved, but I think you'll be fine."

"Yeah, yeah," Bakura said, still not looking up. His hair was hiding his face, but Yugi was willing to bet that he was on the verge of tears, which is not something Bakura would've ever let himself do before, even if it was just a trick.

Yugi just sighed and pushed Atem out the door, closing it after them, an exasperated huff leaving his body as he slid onto the floor.

"I'm glad to see you, Atem," he said, chuckling almost sadly. "But this is really stressful. I have to trust him. He was almost crying in there."

"I understand," Atem said. "I'm still not letting my guard down, but I'm starting to believe him as well."

"Good, so it's settled," Yugi nodded. "They'll come live with us until we figure out why you all came back." Atem was about to answer, but suddenly, an angry Malik appeared, running down the hallway towards the two. He stopped, out of breath, and leaned against the wall.

"Yugi! Pharaoh!" he exclaimed. "Ryou's in trouble! He said that on the phone today...that Bakura called him! And it was actually him! Alive!" Yugi bit his lip nervously. This was horrible. Ryou was certainly terrified and if Malik found out about his darker half being alive as well, things could get messy. But then again, you can't just hide that forever. "Yugi? Did you hear me? This is terrible!"

"Malik, please," Atem said, his deep voice trying to calm Malik down gently. He put a hand on the Egyptian's shoulder. "I promise that it is ok. We'll make sure that you guys are going to be fine." That wasn't a lie, at least.

"Well first we have to find him," Malik said. "Who knows what he's planning to do this time. Poor Ryou." Yugi looked over at Atem, silently asking with that glance if they should tell him. Atem shrugged in response, and Malik instantly noticed.

"What? What is going on?" he asked, frowning and crossing his arms. "You're hiding something. What do you know?" Yugi sighed heavily, putting a hand on Malik's shoulder.

"I need you to calm down, don't overreact, and just listen to what I have to say." Malik froze, suddenly terrified. Something was very wrong and he could feel it. "We know where Bakura is." Malik's reaction was instant as he pulled away from Yugi, anger clear on his face.

"You knew he was back and you didn't tell us?" he growled. "How could you? Where is he? We have to get to him before he does something bad!"

"Malik, he's not dangerous," Yugi insisted. "He's actually in the hospital. He's weak and sick. He just-"

"He's weak?" Malik asked. "Good. Let's kill him while we still can! Who knows? What if he tries to bring...you know who back?" Yugi could see the fear flashing in his friend's eyes, but he just had to tell him so he wouldn't find out from someone else.

"Malik, sit down," he said, hoping to say it gently.

"No! We have to do something!" the Egyptian yelled.

"Malik! Stop!" Yugi tried calming him down again, but to no avail. Atem was getting tired of this. Malik obviously wasn't going to calm down any time soon.

"Marik is back too," he finally said, crossing his arms and preparing for the worst. He didn't have to wait long, because Malik feinted only a second later.

"Great job, 'pharaoh'!" Yugi sighed, smacking his darker friend on the arm.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys~ I don't have many reviews on this story so I'm a little discouraged about the story (but I love those of you that are reviewing! 3) but here's the next chapter! Sorry it took longer than usual to post...**

"Someone had to tell him!"

"You didn't have to be so harsh and straight forward! You knew how he would react!"

"Well nobody else was saying it..."

Malik was waking up slowly, listening to the conversation going on in the room around him. He could tell it was Yugi and the Pharaoh arguing and he knew what it was about. Marik. His other, darker half. _How could he be back? He was gone! He couldn't hurt me! And now..._

"Malik! You're awake!" he heard Yugi call out as he opened his eyes slowly.

"Yeah," he mumbled in response, then sat up, despite his head swimming. "Listen, Yugi. Can I just get out of here? I appreciate the concern, but I just want to get home." Yugi sighed heavily, glancing over at Atem.

"I know how you feel, Malik," he said, "But I need you to listen to what we have to say about them. Malik, they're different. They've changed in the past five years. Maybe if you talked to them you would-"

"Yugi, stop!" Malik yelled out suddenly. "I know you're trying to help, but I don't want to hear it! Your life was different from mine. With the Pharaoh, you got a friend. With...him, I got sent to the shadow realm. I'll never, EVER trust him."

"Malik...you can go home if you want to," Yugi said, eyes filled with guilt and pity. "It's not like they can keep you here. But I really wish you would reconsider."

"Thank you," Malik said, although he didn't sound grateful. "And I'll be taking Ryou home too." Of course, he was still really angry at Yugi for keeping Bakura and Marik a secret. That wasn't something you keep from people!

"Malik, please! Just-"

"No! Leave! Please..." Malik said, turning away from the two spikey haired men and pushing a button to call for a nurse. Atem stood up instantly and headed towards the door, but Yugi stayed seated for a few moments, frowning worriedly. But he reluctantly stood and walked out, just as the nurse was walking in.

"What do you need help with, sir?" the nurse asked with a smile.

"I will be leaving soon," Malik said. "And I was wondering if you could let Ryou know that he should come with me. He's the one with the white hair. I think he was in room 133."

"I know we can't force you to stay, sir," the nurse said, "But you should at least stay a little longer to make sure you don't go into shock again."

"No, it's ok," he replied, standing up and stretching gently. "See? We'll be fine."

"Ok, I'll go get him then," the nurse said with a sigh. "Stay here and try and rest a little more." Malik nodded and sat back down on the hospital bed, and stared at the ceiling. He tried to relax, but Yugi's words just kept repeating in his head.

_They've changed...Maybe if you talk to them..._

"No!" he mumbled. "There's no way I'll ever trust them. Not after what they did to us. To everyone."

Suddenly, the door opened, and _he_ walked in.

"B-B-B-" Malik stuttered, staring with wide eyes.

"Hi, Malik," Bakura said, keeping his eyes on the ground. "Um, the nurse said you wanted to see me, but I think she got me mixed up with...Ryou." As soon as Malik heard Bakura's voice and knew that he was really there, he jumped backwards, falling off of the bed.

"Get back! Stay away! Don't come near me!" he screamed, backing up until he was in the corner of the room, shaking violently. Bakura took a single step, but decided against going any further.

"I'm not going to hurt you, I promise!" Bakura said, still not looking at the terrified Egyptian cowering on the floor.

"Like I could trust your promises," Malik scoffed, glaring at Bakura with venom in his eyes.

"Why would I want to hurt you?" he asked, eyes furrowed in an unusual way. It almost looked like he was sad, but Malik refused to believe the evil spirit could be sad. His only emotion was anger and hate. "We worked together, Malik...we were partners for Ra sake. I went to the shadow realm for you!"

"That was back then," Malik replied, squeezing his eyes shut to repress the memories that were trying to surface. "Back when I was evil too, but now it's just you and that sicko! I left all of that behind and I apologized to everyone and made up for my actions. You can never make up for the terrible things you did, you murderer!"

"Of course I can't make it up to you if you won't let me," Bakura huffed, crossing his arms in an aggravated fashion. "I already apologized to Yugi, and I came here to apologize, but you won't let me talk so I guess I'll just be going then!" Malik looked up anxiously. That sounded a lot more like the Bakura he was used to, getting angry easily and clamming up. But before he could leave, he turned back one more time.

"Please, just know that I'm sorry for hurting you," he sighed, rubbing his neck nervously. "I know that I was in the wrong and I shouldn't have done anything that I did. I'm sorry." Then, he bowed slightly, his hair draping down in front of his eyes, hiding them from sight. "I'm pretty weak right now, so I think I should go back and lay down. I'm sorry for disturbing you. I'll tell the nurse to get Ryou instead." Then he turned back around to leave the room, shoulders shaking slightly as he rushed down the hall way.

Malik was astounded. There was no way that was the Bakura he knew before. Bakura would've never apologized. He would've never admitted to being weak. And most of all, he would've never bowed to anyone. He had hated the Japanese tradition of bowing. It reminded him of everyone bowing to the pharaoh all the time. He would never have bowed before, and yet, he just did.

_Maybe...just maybe...no!_ _No, it's just a trick!_

He was still on the floor, shaking, when Ryou got to his room.

"Malik! What's wrong?" the pale man exclaimed, running to his best friend and crouching next to him. But Malik knew he couldn't tell Ryou that Bakura had been here just a few minutes earlier. He would freak out and probably feint. They couldn't have that because they had to get out of the hospital now! Before _he _decides to make an appearance and cause trouble. "Malik?"

"I'm ok Ryou," the Egyptian replied with a forced smile. "I just fell off of the bed. That's all."

"Oh, ok," Ryou said, nodding worriedly. "Well the nurse says that you wanted me to come here. Did you feint, too? Are you ok?"

"Oh yes! I'm fine now. But I think we should go back to the apartment," Malik said pointedly, standing up. "We need to figure out a plan after all."

"Good idea!" Ryou exclaimed. "We'll be ready for anything if...he tries anything."

"Exactly," Malik nodded. "Now let's get going. The sooner we get out of here, the better." He started to leave, but felt Ryou pull on his sleeve.

"But Malik...I'm scared," Ryou mumbled, biting his lip.

"Don't worry, I'll protect you from him," Malik insisted, taking Ryou's hand and gripping it gently. "It'll be ok."

He would never admit it, but he wasn't even sure if Ryou needed protecting from Bakura. He was certainly different now...But one thing was certain in his mind.

Marik was always and would always be pure hatred and evil! And nothing could change him!


	8. Chapter 8

**Sigh! This chapter is so late! It kept getting deleted from my folder and I've been so busy with Halloween and work to rewrite it! I'm sorry guys...but here it is! I hope it was worth it. **

**There aren't any thief or death shipping interactions in this chapter, but the next one should have a few thief moments for your shipping needs. Ok! Thanks for reading! Review please! I'll update faster! **

It's only been a week, but Yugi was already fed up with Marik and Bakura. Granted, they were a lot better than before, but now there were tons of new problems.

For one, although Bakura had changed a lot, he was still a thieving asshole. He loved to hog the tv and more than once, Yugi had found several opened board games from the shop in Bakura's room (which was actually grandpa's old room, but he had died three years before). But that was the least of his problems!

Marik's new favorite thing to do is to ask questions about anything he could think of. And he always asked the most embarrassing questions at the worst of times. For example, when Yugi had taken the three yami's out shopping for clothes, Marik decided it was a great time to loudly ask if babies really come from storks.

"Where the bloody hell did you hear that?" Bakura exclaimed, laughing. Yugi was trying to avoid the stares around him.

"I read it on the internet," Marik replied, not really understanding that Bakura was making fun of him. But then, Bakura decided to explain where babies come from...in excruciating detail. Yugi had never been so embarrassed in his entire life, dragging the three yami's out of the store quickly.

Yet, that still wasn't the biggest problem. For the past week, Malik and Ryou had been missing. Yugi tried calling their cell phones but they never answered. He also called Kaiba and asked if they had shown up for work. After checking his lists, he told him that they hadn't, but they weren't going to be fired because they were very popular at KC due to being champions and had never even been late before. Yugi wanted to visit their apartment and see if they were ok, but he was worried that Marik or Bakura would follow him and find out where they lived, and that could cause problems.

He sighed loudly, his pressing his hand to his forehead in exasperation.

"Excuse me, mister, are you ok?" Yugi heard someone say. He looked up and saw a young girl, about 7, with a pack of Duel Monsters cards clutched to her chest. She was staring at Yugi expectantly, waiting for an answer.

"Yes, I'm fine. Just worried about some friends," he said, giving her a small smile. "Would you like to buy those cards?"

"Oh yes sir! I love Duel Monsters and my big brother said this is the best store in Domino!" She was so excited as she put the cards up on the desk and slid the notes across to him. "He said there is even a king here. Are you the king?"

"Do you mean the king of games?" Yugi asked, smiling at the little girl. He loved talking to the little children that came into the store. A lot of them wanted signatures or they already knew who he was, so it was a special treat to see this little girl who talked to him so freely.

"Yes! That's it! Are you the king?" she asked, even more excited than she was before. Yugi chuckled, handing the card pack to her. "Because if you're the king, then you shouldn't worry about your friends. You can help them, because you're the king."

"I guess I can," he replied, smiling again. Surprisingly, the girl actually made him feel better. He'd never doubted himself before, so why should he now? He could handle anything that Bakura or Marik through at him and so he decided he would visit Malik and Ryou's apartment as soon as he closed the shop. "Why don't you open those cards and we can see if you get any good ones. And I'll even throw in a rare card from the back. Have you heard of Dark Magician Girl?"

"Ok!" she exclaimed, tearing into the cards. "Thank you, sir!"

While Yugi was busy talking to the little girl, Bakura was watching from behind a shelf. He had been looking for another game to steal and play with Marik when he overheard the little girl talking to Yugi about heing able to help his friends. He didn't want to admit it, but he was hoping that the 'friends' that Yugi was talking about, was he and Marik. But he knew it was probably Ryou and Malik.

Something he would admit is that he felt guilty for Ryou's disappearance. He knew it had to do with his reappearance. If only he could find a way to make Ryou listen, but he knew that was practically impossible.

"Atem!"

Bakura looked up, forgetting where he was for a minute as he had gotten lost in his thoughts on Ryou. Yugi was walking around putting games away, the little girl nowhere to be seen. She must have left already.

"Atem! I'm going out for a little bit!" Yugi called. "I closed the store, so you don't have to worry about it." Bakura couldn't hear Atem's response, but he had a hunch that he knew where Yugi was going. And he was going to follow along. Time to put those old thieving skills back to good use.

Meanwhile, across town, Malik and Ryou were holed up in their apartment, bookcases and tables pressed against the door. They were down to their last 3 cups of ramen and only had water left to drink, as they were out of all juices, milk, and even beer.

"Malik, I'm worried," Ryou mumbled, pulling his knees up and resting his chin on them. "What do we do when we run out of food?"

"Live off of delivery?" Malik asked, trying to lighten the mood. Ryou merely frowned at his response, causing Malik to sigh. "I know, I know. I'm sorry. I'm just too scared to go out. Knowing what's out there, I don't think I could get very far without paranoia kicking in."

"Me either," Ryou mumbled, staring at the tv, despite it being turned off. "So what do we do?"

"I don't know," Malik sighed in response. "I would say call Yugi if we hadn't left our chargers at work. Now we're stuck here until someone decides to find out if we're still alive."

"Or until..._he_ finds us."

"Don't even talk like that!"

"Malik, he scares me! You of all people should know that!" Ryou screamed. Malik quickly sat down next to his best friend, giving him a comforting hug.

"It's ok," he said. "I promise. I'm sorry I yelled at you. Of course I know what you're going through. I'm going through it too, after all. It's like our worst nightmares, come alive."

"I don't want to go back..."

"I won't let you," Malik insisted. "Remember when you woke up screaming and I promised that I'd protect you? That promise still stands."

"Thanks, Malik," Ryou said, smiling weakly. "But still, what do we do about food?"

"Good question..."

At that moment, like a miraculous light in the dark, there was a knock on the door and a familiar voice.

"Ryou? Malik? Are you guys in there?"

"Oh my gods!" Malik exclaimed, over joyed. He ran to the door and started pulling the tables and bookcase away, opening the door as soon as he could. "Yugi! You're alive!" Yugi was stunned as Malik reached out quickly, grabbing him and pulling him into the apartment before barricading the door again.

"Oh, Yugi! I am so glad to see you!" Ryou cheered, jumping up and down excitedly. "Save us! We need food!"

"Food? Have you guys really been in here for a whole week?" Yugi asked, eyes wide with shock.

"Maybe..." Malik mumbled, embarrassed.

"Guys, really?" Yugi huffed. "Come on. Let's go get some food."

"No!" Ryou exclaimed. "Please don't make us leave!"

"You'll have to leave sometime," Yugi insisted, crossing his arms. "You can't just stay here forever."

"Sure we can," Ryou mumbled, shrugging and sitting back down. "As long as they don't know where we are, then right here is right where I'm staying." Yugi sighed in defeat and sat down next to Ryou.

Unbeknownst to them, Bakura was outside, writing down the address on his hand and rushing back to the game shop before anyone could notice that he was there.


	9. Chapter 9

**Trying to update quickly since I took too long for the last update! Also, I won't be able to update from Friday to Sunday because I'm going to the mountains for a retreat. Whoop whoop! **

**This is sort of a little cutesy chapter, although I decided to hold off on the thiefshipping moment I promised because I wanted to prolong the adorable surprise at the end of the chapter~ Heehee! **

**Ok! Review please. Let me know what you want from the story because I'm open to ideas, although I have a general idea where the story is going, it's fun to throw little things in here and there. :) **

"Marik! Get your ass down here!" Bakura yelled as soon as he got back to the shop. "I've got an idea!" A few seconds later, Marik came barreling down the stairs, a corn dog in hand.

"Bakura look at this!" he exclaimed, a look of bewilderment on his face. "It's a piece of meat, wrapped in bread, on a stick!"

"Malik would be so angry at you for eating meat," Bakura scoffed, folding his arms. Malik was a vegetarian and so Marik had never really eaten meat before.

"He's angry at me anyways," Marik shrugged, taking another bite.

"That's what I have a plan for," the white haired man said, holding out his hand and showing where he had written the address. "I just followed Yugi and found out where Malik and Ryou live."

"What? We can't just show up there! What kind of a plan is that, thief?" Marik pouted, hands on his hips. It was almost an effeminate stance that he must have picked up from Malik before he got sent to the shadow realm.

"That wasn't my plan, idiot!" Bakura huffed, smacking the taller over the head. "Listen before you make assumptions. I overheard them talking and Ryou and Malik are running out of food because they won't leave their house. So why don't we start with small things at a time and leave them food. Besides, we know what kind of foods they like best so we should get their food."

"Hm...like little presents?" Marik asked, tapping his chin, almost comically. "Can I decorate the boxes?"

"Yeah sure, whatever," Bakura said, rubbing his temple. Marik could be so difficult to work with.

"There's only one problem," Marik sighed, sitting down. "Malik's favorite food is kushari. Where are we supposed to get that here? We'll have to make it."

"And Ryou likes those french, cream puffy things. That won't be so easy to find here either."

"I don't know how to cook!"

"Well I guess we'll have to find out," Bakura sighed. This was going to much harder than he originally thought.

Back at the apartment, Yugi had given up trying to convince his two friends that it was ok to leave their home. Instead he was making a small list of foods to bring them. They looked like they needed fruits and vegetables the most because Malik doesn't eat meat.

"Oh! And chick peas," Malik said, smiling widely. "I love chick peas."

"Ew, you can eat all of those," Ryou mumbled, squishing his nose up in disgust.

"Well what do you want me to bring you?" Yugi asked, writing chick peas on list under lentils. Ryou thought for a minute, tapping his chin in thought.

"Something sweet, like cream puffs!" he exclaimed, eyes sparkling. "They're so tasty!"

"I don't know where to get cream puffs, Ryou," Yugi said, but wrote it down anyways. "I'll try to look for them, but I don't know. Oh well. I need to get going now because I left Atem back at the store."

"Did you...um...leave _them_ there too?" Ryou asked, looking down at his feet nervously and twisting his fingers in his shirt.

"It's ok. I promise they aren't going to do anything." Ryou and Malik looked at each other, not so sure they believed Yugi.

"Whatever you say, Yugi," Malik sighed.

"I'll be back tomorrow with some food, ok guys?"

"Yeah, alright." Ryou just kept staring at the floor, trying not to think about the thief that could be walking around Domino right now, plotting his revenge, stealing knives, anything! All he knew, was that it was something bad.

Malik, on the other hand, was having different thoughts about the thief king Bakura.

**"Please, just know that I'm sorry for hurting you."**

Is it possible that Yugi was telling the truth about Bakura? Did he mean his apology back in the hospital? Malik had never heard a single 'sorry' uttered by Bakura that wasn't in a bitchy, sarcastic tone. But this time, he seemed so sincere. Could it really be that impossible?

"Malik! Hello?" Ryou's voice brought Malik out of his thoughts and back to reality. "Yugi just left and you've been staring out into space, you weirdo."

"Sorry!" Malik chuckled. "I guess I was just dreaming about my chick peas."

When Yugi got back to the shop, he hurriedly went upstairs to make sure Atem kept things in order with Bakura and Marik. He was a little worried, but only because Atem still seemed to be angry at them. Which is totally understandable, seeming as both people tried to kill him multiple times...

"Atem! Hello? Where are you?" Yugi called. He wasn't in the room he was sharing with Yugi and he wasn't in the tv room. "Atem!"

"I-In here..." he finally heard Atem call from the kitchen. "B-but don't come in! Stay out there!" Yugi frowned, definitely worried. So he ignored Atem's warning and walked in briskly, preparing himself for anything. Well...anything but what he found. Nothing could prepare him for that.

"No! Yugi don't look!" Atem exclaimed, but it was too late. Yugi saw everything...and burst out laughing.

There was Atem, Bakura, and Marik. All three of them were stationed at there own section of the kitchen, which was a complete and total mess, and they all had numerous ingredients spread across the counters. First of all, Atem was at the stove, a burned piece of hamburger meat sitting in a pan as he tried to flip it. There were spots of grease all over his face and several charred hamburger patties were dropped on the floor, other failed attempts at flipping the burgers. Then there was Marik. He had a pot in his hands as he mixed _uncooked_ rice, lentils, and tomatoes together. Unfortunately, he was mixing a little too roughly and the contents of the bowl were sloshing out of the bowl and onto the counter. But the worst was Bakura!

"Why is this so bloody hard?!" the white haired thief growled, his own mixing bowl in his hands. He seemed to be attempting to whip some vanilla pudding, milk, and cream together but the majority of the cream seemed to be plastered across his face as he scowled at the rest of the cream in the bowl. There was spilled sugar and milk across the floor under him as he kept trying to mix his concoction.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU GUYS DOING?" Yugi screeched, still doubled over in laughter. Marik pouted, much like a child, and put his bowl down on the counter angrily.

"It's not funny!" he huffed, running his hands through his hair in frustration. "I didn't know cooking was so hard. I mean tons of people do it so-"

"What are you cooking for? What are you even trying to cook?" Yugi asked, surveying the damage done to his kitchen. It was pretty bad.

"Well it was Bakura's idea!" Atem growled, watching the fourth burnt hamburger hit the floor. "He said he wanted to cook for Ryou so I thought I should try too. We all thought we should try and then all of this happened."

"What is this supposed to be?" Yugi pointed to the bowl of whatever Marik was mixing.

"It's going to be kushari..." Marik sighed. "It's Malik's favorite but I don't think I'm doing it right." Yugi shook his head. The rice wasn't even cooked!

"And this fucking mess is going to be cream for the stupid cream puff things that Ryou eats!" Bakura growled, attempting to wipe some cream off of his cheeks, but it only smudged it more.

"And this?" Finally Yugi pointed to the mess of patties littering the floor around Atem's feet. Atem blushed, trying not to look into Yugi's eyes.

"It's supposed to be hamburgers..." he muttered. _Hamburgers? That's my favorite food._ He couldn't help but smile at the thought.

"Well come on!" he said, putting his hands on his hips in a determined fashion. "Let's get this mess cleaned up and cook some real food."


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey guys! Sorry about the little delay, but I had a busy and fun weekend with the retreat I work at, so sorry not sorry! Here's the next chapter! Enjoy the little moment at the end~ please review! **

_Knock knock._

"What was that?" Malik muttered, pausing the tv. Ryou stood up, tossing the book he was reading back on the sofa before heading to the door. On his way to the door, he grabbed a baseball bat that was next to the door and gripping tightly. Then he looked through the peep hole.

"Hello? Yugi, is that you?" Nothing. So he cautiously opened the door and looked around, but he couldn't see anyone. Then, he looked down and saw something he didn't expect. Two little boxes, one light pink and one violet. He slowly picked them up and brought them back into the apartment, setting them down on the table in front of Malik.

"What is this?" the Egyptian exlcaimed, grabbing the pink box and reading the tiny label attached to the bow. "Oh, it's for you." He handed the pink box back to Ryou, who took it with shaking hands and read the pretty hand writing on the label for himself. _To Ryou from an old friend.  
_

"An old friend..." Ryou mumbled to himself. He had to admit, he was scared that this box was from..._him_. Maybe it was some sort of terrible trick. But his fearful thoughts were interrupted by Malik's angry yell.

"What the hell is this supposed to mean?!" he growled, staring at the label on the violet box. "To you from me? Is that supposed to mean me, since you already have one? And what's with this shitty hand writing?" Ryou looked over, and Malik was right. The label looked like it was written by a three year old. There was even a sloppy looking smiley face on the side.

"I guess so," Ryou said, still not looking up from the box in his hands. Malik, on the other hand, didn't hesitate to tear into the violet box, lifting the lid quickly.

"What...no way!" he shouted, eyes wide. Ryou moved to sit next to him and look inside the box. It looked like some sort of rice dish with tomatoes, chick peas, and some other vegetables.

"What's that?" Ryou asked, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Whatever it was, it didn't look that good to him.

"Kushari! My favorite food from Egypt!" he exclaimed, jumping up and rushing for the kitchen. He came back merely seconds later with a fork in hand before sitting down and taking a heaping mouthful and tasting it slowly. Then, he did something Ryou didn't expect. A single tear fell down Malik's cheek as the fork sat still in his mouth.

"Malik! What's wrong? Is it poisoned?" Ryou exclaimed, dropping the pink box on the table and shaking Malik gently but firmly. "Come on, say something!"

"It's just like Ishizu used to make..." Malik sighed, a far away look in his eyes. It was like tasting the better memories of his childhood. Playing games with Odion. Ishizu reading him bed time stories. The simple pleasures. "It's so good..."

Ryou pursed his lips before turning back to his box and untying the ribbon. Then, he ever so gently opened the lid, looking inside. He was greeted with such a pleasant sight. Four small pastries topped with chocolate sauce.

"Profiterole...?" he whispered, looking at the pastries anxiously. "They don't make them here. I wonder where they came from." _An old friend..._

"Did you leave them? Did you?" Marik asked. He and Bakura were sitting, backs straight, on the edge of the store counter. Yugi and Atem had just gotten back from delivering the two boxes of home made food. Bakura didn't want to give away the fact that he knew where their apartment was, so he asked the two spikey haired men to take the presents for them.

"Yeah," Atem growled, staring at the two 'villains' as if trying to figure out their secret plan. Yugi noticed this and quickly elbowed him in the ribs.

"Thank you," Bakura replied, ignoring Atem's rude glare.

"Our pleasure," Yugi smiled. "It was a really good idea. I'm sure they'll appreciate it." Marik jumped up, a wide smile in place.

"I tasted the kushari! It was perfect!" he said, nodding quickly. Bakura mentally facepalmed. Marik was in the shadow realm a lot longer than he had been, so it's no wonder his entire murderous personality was wiped away, replaced by this idiot of a child.

"How were the profiteroles, Bakura?" Yugi asked, drawing Bakura out of his thoughts.

"The whats?" he huffed, cocking an eyebrow.

"The cream puffs," Yugi chuckled. "They're called profiteroles."

"Oh...I don't know," he replied. "I don't like those sugary things, so I didn't try them."

"Really? How do you know if they taste good for Ryou?" Marik demanded, hands on his hips. "What if they taste like shit?! That defeats the purpose of cooking them in the first place."

"First of all, you don't cook pastries, _Marik,_" Bakura sighed, pressing his pointer finger to his forehead in irritation. "Secondly, it's the thought that counts. I'm not tasting something I don't like to eat. I'll think it tastes like shit either way."

"Whatever, fluffy!" Marik replied with a pout, crossing his arms. Atem sat down behind the counter, trying to ignore the 'villains' seeming as their small argument was giving him a headache.

"Will you guys shut it?" he asked, knowing that they never actually would.

"My apologies, pharaoh," Marik said, saluting. "Fluffy can get pretty loud, can't he." Bakura sighed, running his hand through his 'fluffy' hair before standing up.

"As I said, thank you for delivering the boxes and helping us cook. I guess I'll be going to sleep now since I'm so bloody annoying," he growled, crossing his arms and standing up to head upstairs. Marik merely snickered, smirking in the ex-thief's direction. Yugi was frowning, biting his lip gently.

"Oh, don't worry about him," Marik said, waving his hand nonchalantly. "He's just a temperamental asshole. That didn't change in the shadow realm."

"I heard that!"

"Ryou, how is your food?" Malik asked, putting down the empty purple box. He'd finished the entire plate in less than 20 minutes. Ryou's box, on the other hand, was pretty much untouched.

"Well, I tried a bite," he muttered, chewing nervously on his nail. "But it kinda tasted shitty..."

"Oh well! It's the thought that counts," Malik replied, shrugging.

"Yeah...I guess so."


	11. Chapter 11

**Sorry for the long wait again! I got some news from my doctor and had some stuff to take care of this week (appointments and college part 2 stuff to set up), but here is a pretty long chapter, compared to my other chapters. :) **

**But thanks for the reviews guys! I love writing cute, funny scenes, but I'm hoping to get into some of the more serious moments coming up...so here is one more "heavy/fluffy" moment for you! That's right...Ryou meeting Marik! **

**Please review! **

Bakura was leading Marik through the relatively small downtown, heading towards the apartment where they knew Malik and Ryou were hiding. The shorter of the two was thinking back to last night, after he had gone upstairs alone to go rest after getting annoyed with Atem.

_Flashbaaaaack_

_"Asshole," Bakura muttered to himself, sitting on the bedroom floor and leaning against the bed so that his head fell back onto the mattress and he was staring, well...glaring at the ceiling. "What more does he want from me?" After sitting there for a moment, his eyes stared drooping and he fell asleep almost instantly.  
_

_"Bakura! Wake up! You can't sleep on the floor like that!" _

_Bakura blinked, lips twitching into a frown at being woken up. But as he sat up, noticing he was still sitting on the floor against the bed, he felt a pain in his neck. _

_"Ow, shit!" he growled, rubbing the pain in his neck. Marik chuckled, standing up from the floor where he had been sitting to wake Bakura up.  
_

_"That's what you get for sleeping on the floor," he said, helping Bakura up. "Anyways, I came to tell you that Yugi got a call a few minutes ago." _

_"Oh? And why do I care?" Bakura huffed. _

_"It was Ryou." And that's all he had to say to catch Bakura's attention."Yugi said he wanted to know who made the food."  
_

_"What did he tell him?" Bakura asked, curling his hand into a fist. He knew that Ryou was scared of him and when he asked 'who made the food' he probably meant 'did Bakura poison it'.  
_

_"He said he didn't know anything about it," Marik nodded. _

_"Good."_

_End of Flashbaaaack_

"Are we there yet?" Marik sighed, collapsing on a bench. "I'm tired and I have to go to the bathroom!"

"Gods, you're such a little kid," Bakura sighed, turning to the large Egyptian with his hands on his hips. "Come on!"

"I'm tired, Kura! Let me rest!" Marik protested, laying down on the bench now.

"Fine! But I'm going to keep going without you," Bakura replied, crossing his arms to keep from strangling the other. "When you're done being an idiot, I'll be up here. Keep going straight until you get to 5th street. Then go left and it's right there."

Marik merely waved his hand, not even opening his eyes as the shorter walked away, grumbling under his breath. And soon, Marik was left alone, eyes closed as he lay on the bench. He had to admit, he was super tired because he hadn't been sleeping well ever since he was 'reborn', so to speak. Every night seems to be plagued with terrifying dreams and nightmares. The darkness kept it him up through out most of the night and he couldn't get back to sleep after he woke up, his fear tearing him up inside.

"Yeah, I'm almost there and no sign of them yet."

_That voice! _Marik sat straight up, eyes wide. He recognized it instantly, despite having heard it only a few times. It was Ryou! His eyes scanned the small crowd of people and instantly found the pale, white haired Brit. He stood out like a sore thumb, hunched over and glancing around nervously as he talked on the phone in a quiet voice.

"I'll call you when I get there and when I leave and when I'm almost to the apartment and-"

Marik raised an eyebrow curiously. Ryou seemed like he was ready to have a panic attack any second, so why was he out of the apartment.

"You wanted chick peas, right?...Yeah, I'll get them...ok, bye. Wish me luck." Ryou hung up the phone, shoving it into his pocket before turning a corner. Marik wasted no time jumping up to follow him, his tiredness forgotten.

He watched as Ryou quickly made his way down the street, his eyes flitting back and forth, searching for the people he thought were still evil. Marik followed carefully, hiding himself behind people, trees, even trashcans. He didn't care about the weird looks he was getting. He was just focused on hiding from the terrified Ryou.

Eventually, Ryou made it to a grocery store, rushing inside without hesitation. Marik decided against following Ryou inside, since he was broke and would look suspicious not buying anything. Instead, he tucked his hands into his jean pockets and sat down against the wall outside. Unfortunately for him, he would always look suspicious anyways. He sighed loudly, crossing his arms and waited, his tiredness suddenly returning. And within a few minutes of watching kids, he was sound asleep against the wall.

While Marik was outside, falling asleep, Ryou was in the grocery store, rushing around and grabbing everything they had put on their list. He had woken up that morning, suddenly feeling brave, and wanted to get out of the apartment. He called Yugi and told him not to worry about getting the food, but half way through his walk to the store, his bravery seemed to dissipate and he found himself shaking as he ran through the aisles.

Earlier that morning, he couldn't seem to shake the feeling that something good would happen, but now, his fear of..._him _was enough to overcome his 'good feeling'. Now he was just scared.

He grabbed the last item on his list, chickpeas, and raced for the check out.

"Hi, sweetie pie," the elderly check out lady smiled as she started scanning his items. "You seem a little frazzled. Did you have a hard time in the store today?"

"No, ma'am," Ryou replied, giving her his own warm smile. "I've just been having a rough week." _More like a rough life._

"Oh dear," she frowned. "Well that's no good. Here, I've got a little present for you." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small piece of chocolate, handing it to the white haired Brit. "I like to give out chocolate to remind people that a little positivity can change an entire persons life." Ryou blinked, eyes wide as he accepted the piece of chocolate from the elderly woman.

"Th-thank you," he said, clutching it. "This actually means a lot."

"No problem," she replied with another kind smile. Ryou paid for his food and quickly left, feeling a lot better than he had before. He looked at the piece of chocolate in his hands. Maybe this was the good thing? Perhaps its supposed to be sign that if there really is a little bit of positivity, then people can change. Even..._no._ That's absurd.

Ryou unwrapped the piece of chocolate in his hands and was about to pop it into his mouth when something caught his eyes. A group of kids were gathered around the side of the grocery store, all giggling quietly. Ryou chuckled, recognizing that sort of giggling sound. It was something Amane used to do when she was up to something devious. So he walked over just to see what was going on, but he didn't expect this.

A kid that looked about 8 was up next to the wall, a sharpie pen in hand, and he was drawing ridiculous markings all over the tanned face of a sleeping person. But when Ryou saw who it was that was being "tortured" with a sharpie pen, he froze in fear. _How?_

Suddenly, the sleeping man shifted slightly, causing a 5 year old girl near the front of the group to shriek and giggle. _How are these kids not terrified?_ You used to be able to feel the danger radiating off of Marik, even if he was sleeping. Aren't kids supposed to know not to play with strangers.

"RAWR!"

Marik jumped up so suddenly that the 8 year old boy dropped his sharpie pen and ran, screaming in glee. All of the other kids ran as well, going to hide behind different trees or bushes. Marik, towering over all of them, chased them around the plaza, laughing.

"What did you guys do to my face?!" he yelled. "I can't get any sleep around here, can I?"

Ryou was absolutely frozen...but not in fear. He was feeling more confused than he had ever felt before. Here was a mass murdering psychopath running around chasing kids and having..._fun. _The kids were laughing, the parents around just watched smiling. It wasn't right! Marik finally got his hands on the boy who was drawing on his face, and Ryou expected some real damage to be done, but instead, Marik just ruffled the kids hair and _tickled him. _

Ryou's mouth dropped open. Unfortunately, that's when Marik finally noticed him.

"Shit..." he hissed, biting his lip.

"Hey, mister! That's a bad word!" the little boy yelled, still laughing. Marik dropped him gently.

"Oops, sorry kid," he chuckled. "Now run off and find your mom."

"Sorry about drawing on your face, mister," the boy said, nervously rubbing his neck.

"It's ok," Marik nodded. "I would've done the same thing when I was your age, although your art skills are a lot better than mine."

"Thanks, mister!" the boy smiled before running to his mouth who was sitting on a bench.

Ryou watched the whole interaction with wide eyes, but when Marik stepped towards him, he still stepped back, so Marik decided it was best not to make any sudden movements.

"You...?" Ryou muttered.

"Me," Marik said, giving a sort of shy smile that looked out of place on his face. Although with the swirls drawn on his cheeks and the weird looking mustache drawn over his lip, he didn't look that threatening. "Please don't overreact."

"I-I am _not_ overreacting! W-What are you...why are you here?" Ryou yelled, bawling his fists up.

"I followed you because I wanted to see you," Marik tried to explain, although it did sound pretty bad in his ears. "I never really met you but I heard a lot about you from Bakura. I wanted to see you. I mean to scare you though..."

"Why are you playing with those kids?" Ryou asked, still so confused. He was surprised he wasn't just running and screaming. He must still have some bravery left from this morning.

"Well they were pretty cute drawing on my face," Marik chuckled, running a hand through his hair, but Ryou just looked more confused. "Look," he sighed. "I don't know what you've heard about me, but I'm not like that anymore. In the shadow realm, it was terrible. They kept replaying these scenes of me hurting people and then showed me all of these things those people had to go through because of me. I had to live with that for years! I hated myself more than I ever did before, which was a lot! I was born from hate, but seeing that only made me hate myself. I'm sorry. I really am!"

Ryou was shaking slightly, but the look on Marik's face was so heartbroken and lonely, he had to believe him. He seemed so heartfelt about his apology, despite never having met Ryou before. The way he put it, you couldn't think he was lying about any of it. But what could he do?

**Ring ring!**

Ryou jumped slightly, his phone startling him in his pocket. Quickly, he answered it.

"Hello?" he mumbled, not taking his eyes off of Marik.

"Ryou! Where are you? Are you ok? You've been gone for awhile! I thought you would call!" It was Malik, and he sounded rather worried.

"Uh..."

"Ryou? Is something happening? What's going on?" Malik called, getting anxious. Ryou was at a loss. He was obligated to tell his best friend about Marik, but he would never believe that Marik was actually sorry. So he would have to lie if he wanted to find out more about Marik and whether he was really changed.

"No, no it's fine," Ryou said, trying to sound calm. "Nothing is going on."

"Really? Are you sure?"

"Yep, I'm fine," Ryou replied. "I'll be back soon." Then he hung up abruptly.

"...thank you," Marik muttered, looking down sadly. Ryou felt a twinge of quilt in his stomach. Marik just looked so lonely. Surely he wanted to talk to Malik if he really did want to apologize, but Malik would never hear it. He'd go crazy just seeing him, and Marik knew it.

"Here," Ryou said, stepping forward finally. He was still nervous, but he was able to move up to Marik now. "Hold out your hand and close your eyes." Marik obeyed instantly, confused but intrigued. He felt something small drop into his outstretched fingers, and opened his eyes to see what it was.

"What's this?" he asked, not recognizing the little square object in his hand.

"Chocolate, it's a candy," Ryou explained. "A woman gave it to me and said a little positivity can change an entire persons life. Maybe she was right."

Marik blinked, eyes wide. Nobody had ever said anything like that to him, and nobody had ever given him a present before. He didn't know how to react. But before he could react, Ryou had turned around and was leaving, waving back at him.

"Thank you," Marik whispered, although Ryou couldn't hear it.


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey guys! Sorry for the wait again...I went to the grandma's house and now I have another idea for a new fanfic! I'll start posting that soon. It'll be a tendershipping AU called Repayment~  
**

**Anyways! Last time, we saw that Ryou is super forgiving towards Marik...but will he be as forgiving towards Bakura? (lol, no!) **

**So the questions remain. What was Bakura doing during deathshippings meeting? What will Malik think if he finds out that Ryou met Marik? And will I answer these questions? HeeHee~ **

**Quick note. I decided to start doing scene breaks using "OoOoO" as the break. And _italics_ _are thoughts. _**

**On with the fic! **

Marik was practically giddy walking back to the Kame Game Shop. He just couldn't stop thinking of Ryou and the piece of chocolate that was in his hands. He still hadn't eaten it yet, wanting to savor it at the right moment. Instead, he sat in the kitchen, shuffling a deck of Duel Monsters cards and just staring at the chocolate with a wide smile.

"Marik? Why do you look so happy?" Atem asked, raising an eyebrow suspiciously. He had walked into the kitchen to see Marik sitting cross legged on top of the table ("_How rude."_) and the creepily large smile on his face gave Atem a weird feeling.

"Oh nothing!" Marik chuckled, flipping the top card on the deck. It was...the Change of Heart magic card. "I like this card!" Atem walked over, after getting a glass of milk, and sat down in one of the kitchen chairs.

"Change of Heart? Yeah, it's pretty useful," he said, shrugging.

"No, no! It's more than that," Marik replied, a slight pout on his face as he glared at Atem. "It's important. Anyone can have a change of heart, right? It's not too late for anyone." Atem looked up at Marik, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. He was looking at this man, sitting cross legged with a goofy smile as he stared at a DM card and a piece of chocolate, and was trying to imagine him killing people. He distinctly remembered this Marik, but the Marik in front of him now, could not be the same one.

Yugi walked in suddenly, finding Atem staring at Marik staring at a card. He merely shook his head, pretty much used to the odd habits of the yamis.

"Hey, you two!" he said, grabbing a cookie off of the counter. "Have you seen Bakura? He's been gone for awhile."

"Oh crap!" Marik exclaimed, jumping down from the table. He'd completely forgotten about Bakura! "We went out and I got tired and came back, but I told him I would catch up with him. He's probably still waiting for me!" Quickly, he dropped the cards gently on the counter and ran down the stairs and out the door, ignoring Yugi's confusion.

"What was that all about?" Yugi muttered, shoving the cookie into his mouth and crossing his arms.

"Change of Heart," Atem replied, simply pointing to the only face up card on the table.

"Hm, that's Ryou's favorite card," Yugi chuckled, picking it up. "What a coincidence." Atem, however, didn't think it was much of a coincidence at all.

OoOoO With Ryou after he left Marik OoOoO

Well that was certainly a strange and sudden meeting. Ryou had learned everything he knew about Marik from his terrified hikari, Malik. So everything he knew about Marik was that he was a murderer. The person he met today was definitely not a murderer.

He made his way slowly back to the apartment, the grocery bags held firmly in his hands. He was so stuck in his thoughts about Marik that he wasn't paying attention to where he was walking, and as he walked up the stairs to his apartment, he ran into a certain someone right in front of their door.

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" he said, reaching down to pick up the bags he had dropped. It wasn't until he looked up that he saw who he had bumped into. And screamed, backing up until he hit the wall.

Malik was sitting inside, watching tv with his feet tucked under him, when he heard the very familiar scream from outside the door. He instantly jumped up, running to the door.

"Ryou! Hold on!" he yelled, throwing open the door. He didn't expect to see the wide eyed Bakura standing there in the door way, the edge of his lips curled in frustration.

"Please stop screaming, both of you," he muttered, eyebrow twitching. "I'm leaving. I'm sorry to disturb you. I didn't mean for either of you to see me."

"W-w-why are you...what...?" Ryou was hyperventilating, still screaming and trying to scramble backwards, despite being against the wall already.

"Calm down, please," Bakura sighed, his fists clenched. But he wasn't angry at Ryou for responding this way. In fact, he expected it, but it still hurt. He turned on his heel and briskly turned away, hurrying down the stairs. Ryou immediately rushed into the apartment, shaking. Malik didn't know what to do. He'd been thinking about Bakura constantly, about how he had apologized. He figured he would regret this, but took off down the stairs after the taller of the white haired men.

"Bakura, wait!" he called. "Hold on!"

Bakura heard Malik, but kept walking none the less. He hadn't wanted either of them to see him, but he was at the door trying to hear if they were having a conversation inside. Yet all he could hear was the tv. That's when Ryou appeared. What had he been doing outside the apartment? It ruined everything and now he had frightened his previous host so much that he was screaming and shaking. He'd ruined his chance to apologize. He ruined everything just like he always had from the very beginning. Maybe this is for the best. Maybe he didn't deserve forgiveness, especially from Ryou.

"Bakura, stop!"

"What?!" Bakura yelled, turning around suddenly. Malik stopped walking, frozen in his spot. This was something he really thought he'd never see. Bakura's face was light red and tears were slowly dripping down his cheeks. His mouth was still pressed into a thin line and his eyes were narrowed as he tried to look angry, but those tears showed every emotion but anger. Pain. Loneliness. Regret.

"Are you...crying?" Malik asked, taking a tentative step forward. Bakura reached up, touching his own cheek gently and feeling the wet streaks, having not realized that he had started crying. He quickly rubbed at his eyes, trying to get all of the water off of his face.

"I'm leaving."

"Bakura, hold on a minute, please," Malik insisted, reaching out and grabbing Bakura's sleeve. "Don't feel bad about what just happened."

_Why am I comforting him?_

"He didn't expect to see you. It was just too sudden. Maybe if you come back a different time..."

_I shouldn't care if he's upset. He's evil. He's manipulative. He's terrible._

"I can try and calm him down."

_He's broken._

"It's ok, Malik," Bakura sighed, turning around. "I'll be fine. Just make sure he's ok." And with that, the white haired thief left, leaving the ex-tomb keeper more confused than ever. But mostly, more confused about his own feelings. Something about seeing the strong and sarcastic Bakura so broken and sad really tore something in him. It hurt to see the tear streaks down those pale cheeks.

Malik sank to the floor against the wall, not willing to go up and see Ryou's panic because that panic is what was hurting Bakura. He wanted to tell him to stop and find Bakura, but he had a duty as a best friend to comfort Ryou, not Bakura. He wanted to help Bakura, but he couldn't. He shouldn't.

He had to get back to Ryou.


	13. Chapter 13

**I'm still writing this deathshipping oneshot. It's so long and has actual in character Marik! I'm sure I'll be done soon (because I just started the smutty stuff~). **

**So here is the next chapter of Hikari no Game. It's getting slightly more emotional now, I'm trying to pull on some heart strings. I was trying to decide how many chapters I wanted this. I was thinking maybe 20? Maybe a little more? I want to start the tendershipping fic because it's such a good plot! **

**Anyways, here we go!**

"Ryou? Where are you?" Malik asked, walking into their apartment. He had hoped to see his best friend sitting on the couch, but of course, he wasn't. He listened closely and heard quiet sobs coming from the bathroom.

"Ryou?" he called, knocking on the door. When there was no reply, he opened the door slowly and peeked in. He still didn't see Ryou, so he walked in and pulled the shower curtain aside, revealing the cowering, white haired man.

"Is h-he gone?" Ryou muttered, his voice strained as he hugged his knees to his chest.

"Yes, he's gone," Malik nodded, giving him a soft smile and holding out his hand. "Come on. I'll make some vanilla tea."

"I think I'll just stay here," Ryou sighed, burying his face into his knees. Malik frowned and dropped his hand, knowing not to press it.

"Ok, I'll bring your tea in here then," he said, leaving the bathroom and closing the door. As he started walking to the kitchen, he heard Ryou start sobbing again. But he couldn't blame Ryou.

If...he had shown up out of the blue, Malik didn't know what he would've done. He'd probably be a lot worse off then Ryou, but then again, Bakura obviously was different. Leaving immediately when he realized that Ryou was going to have a panic attack. Apologizing for upsetting everyone. That is not something Marik would've done. Marik would...

Malik balled his fists up. He needed to stop thinking about _him_. Nothing good would come from it.

He quickly went back to making the tea, trying to push the thoughts out of his head. But he couldn't find any tea anywhere. Ryou must have forgotten to buy it from that tea man down the street...

OoOoO Marik is looking for Bakura! OoOoO

Marik was running downtown, trying to remember the directions Bakura had given him, but he couldn't seem to remember very well. He passed by the grocery store where Ryou had gone and kept going past it. Finally, he reached the bench where Bakura had left him and looked around, deciding to continue walking. He knew there was some sort of street number he was supposed to turn down.

"Jeez, I need to listen better," he muttered, being careful to observe every person walking by, although the pale man he was looking for would definitely stand out among the Japanese people. In fact, the pale man would stand out to anyone! Marik walked over to a street vendor selling teas and oils.

"Excuse me, sir," Marik said, waving in the most friendly way he knew how. "Have you seen a man walk by earlier? He is a little bit shorter than me. Very pale and long, white hair."

"White hair? Sounds like that Ryou kid," the man said, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "He lives down on 5th street."

"5th street! I knew there was a number!" Marik exclaimed happily. Of course, he wasn't looking for Ryou (right now) but that's where Bakura would be. "Thank you, sir."

"No problem, young man," the man replied, turning to tend to a customer. Marik was about to turn away and head to 5th street, but decided to turn back to the tea man. He waited patiently until the man was done with his current customer before getting his attention again.

"Actually, do you have a vanilla tea for sale?" he asked, looking at the teas on the table.

"I have two back here, but I saved them for a specific customer," the man said, reaching down and pulling up a small tin of vanilla tea leaves. "It's for Ryou actually. He said it's his favorite and only buys it from me, so I always have a tin on hand for him."

"Great! Can I buy one for him? I figured he would like that flavor," Marik said, excited that he had guessed correctly. He put together the fact that Ryou loved creampuffs and the fact that the white haired man seemed to smell like vanilla.

"I suppose so," the man smiled. "One tin will be 350 yen." Marik dug into his pocket for the spare change that Yugi had given him (in case he got lost and needed a cab).

"I don't know how to count yen," he admitted sheepishly, handing the man the hunk of paper and coins he had.

"Not from around here?" the man chuckled, counting out the correct amount and handing the rest back to Marik.

"No, I'm Egyptian," Marik replied, putting the money back in his pocket and picking up the tin. "Thank you so much."

"Come back anytime!" the tea man said, waving as Marik turned and started racing for 5th street, the tea held tight in his hands.

OoOoO Bakura is walking away from the apartment! OoOoO

Bakua couldn't believe that he had started crying. It was ridiculous. The King of Thieves? Crying?

But of course, he had to admit, that it hurt. He deserved it, but it hurt. His single most purpose in life now was to apologize and makes thing right, but how could he do that when he couldn't even show himself to Ryou?

At least Malik seems to feel better about him now. The stubborn Egyptian was even trying to comfort him. What a strange thought.

"Bakura! Is that you?" Bakura looked up and saw Marik running straight for him, a small tin in his hands.

"Of course not! It's the other pale, white haired, tomb robbing, ex-spirit in town," he scoffed, glad to see that his sarcastic comments were coming back to him. Maybe he could put this whole 'crying' thing behind him.

"Oh shut up," Marik said, reaching him and sticking his tongue out. It was meant to be a playful gesture, but Marik's tongue was still freakishly long and creepy looking.

"Ew, put that back," Bakura scowled, causing Marik to chuckle. "And what the hell is that?" He swiftly grabbed the tin out of Marik's hands before the Egyptian could stop him. "Tea?"

"It's not for me..." Marik mumbled. "It's a present."

"Vanilla tea...is this for Ryou?" Bakura asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

"M-maybe," Marik replied, snatching the tea back from Bakura. "Where should I leave it?"

"Why are you buying stuff for Ryou?" Bakura asked, his lips turned down in a slight frown.

"I don't know," Marik lied. In truth, he wanted to thank Ryou for the chocolate and for forgiving him so easily. "Just, where should I leave it?"

"How did you know he likes vanilla tea?" Bakura was looking slightly angry now as he kept spouting questions. This was getting nowhere.

"Oh, never mind! I'll find it myself!" Marik huffed, strutting inside the apartment and leaving Bakura to stare after him. Bakura had no reason to be angry, but why would Marik be buying _his_ hikari presents. And presents that he'll like, at that! How did he know what to get? He balled up his fists, like a certain Egyptian was doing inside his apartment at this exact moment, and started towards the Kame Game Shop. Marik could find his way back on his own, for all he cared.

OoOoO With Ryou in the bathroom OoOoO

Ryou finally calmed down enough to stand up and run his hands through his messy hair. He calmed his breathing and took a deep breath, trying to keep his legs from shaking too much.

Seeing his past right in front of him really scared him so much. He remembered all of the people Bakura killed using Ryou's hands. All of the friends Ryou lost, because of him. He spent years alone, because of him. Everything happened, because of him! And it scared him that this could all happen again. What if Bakura does something to Malik? What if he finds away to take of Ryou's body again? He was starting to hyperventilate again and decided he needed Malik.

"M-Malik! Can you come back in here?" he called, sitting back down in the tub. After a few moments, the door opened and Malik peeked in, holding an empty tea tin.

"Did you forget to pick up tea?" he asked, holding out the empty tin.

"Yeah, I guess," Ryou sighed, glad to see that Malik was ok and that Bakura hadn't come back and done anything to him.

"What's up?" Malik asked, walking in and kneeling down on the floor in front of the tub. "Are you ready to come out yet?"

"No...I look ridiculous don't I?" Ryou asked, glancing away shyly. He felt ridiculous, but he couldn't help it.

"It's ok, I promise," Malik said, offering a smile as he started to stand up. "I'll go pick up your tea, ok?"

"No! Don't leave!" Ryou suddenly screamed, reaching out and grabbing Malik's pants leg tightly.

"Ryou, it's ok," Malik insisted, but Ryou had started shaking again. "Fine. I won't go anywhere. I'll stay here." Just this morning, Malik was begging Ryou to stay in the apartment, and now it's switched. All because Bakura showed up.

"Promise?" Ryou asked, still holding Malik's pants leg.

"I promise," he nodded, and Ryou finally let go of Malik's pants and dropped his hand slowly. "I'll make some hot chocolate then."

"Hurry back," Ryou mumbled, almost too quietly for Malik to hear.

The Egyptian hurried out of the bathroom towards the kitchen, but on his way, he heard a small knock on the door. Thinking it was Bakura, he ran to the door and threw it open, but no one was there.

"Bakura?" he called, quietly so that Ryou couldn't hear from the bathroom. Nothing. He was about to close the door when he happened to glance down and he saw a small, silver tin. He picked it up, reading the label. Of course he thought the vanilla tea was from Bakura, seeming as only Bakura would know that it was Ryou's favorite. Plus, he would never think that his own yami would be kind enough to buy a present.


	14. Chapter 14

**Jeez guys! I've been gone for so long! But I'm wondering how many more chapters to write for this. I don't think I want it to be too long, plus I want to get started on other stories...**

**Anyways! Read the chapter! Love the chapter! Comment on the chapter! :)**

**Warnings: Depression and attempted suicide! This is a heavy chappy! I know. It's weird. I write the cute and fluffy shit but I also love the deep, heart wrenching stuff. **

OoOoO Bakura is Upset OoOoO

_Damn him. Stupid Egyptian. Why do I even care? I don't! I'm just...I don't know! _

Bakura had his hands shoved into his pockets as he reached the game shop, muttering curse words under his breath. He decided to sit outside on a bench for a minute before going inside, worried that he would upset Yugi.

"Why the fuck am I worried about that?" he growled to himself. "I'm so messed up right now."

He knew he had changed, but this new discovery of jealousy and worry was just too much to handle. He felt like he wasn't even himself anymore and he didn't know who he was becoming.

Have you ever felt like there's someone else in your skin and you have no control over what you do or feel?

"Goddammit!" he yelled, dropping his head into his hands. When he put it that way, he realized that he had done that to Ryou countless times and now he felt even worse. At this rate, he'd never go back into the game shop.

_Maybe it's for the best. Maybe I should leave and never come back. Why did I come back? I don't deserve to. I deserve to rot. Maybe I should just..._

Bakura stood up and started walking away from the game shop and into town again. And for the first time in awhile, his mind was completely set on what to do.

OoOoO Marik gets Back OoOoO

Marik felt a little bad about hurting Bakura's feelings. Granted, he didn't know why Bakura would be angry at him just for getting his hikari some tea, but he didn't want his only friend to be mad at him. He decided he would apologize immediately when he got back to the shop. But he didn't get the chance.

"Baku! Where are you?" he called, opening the door to the shop and ignoring the weird looks customers gave him. Yami was behind the counter while Yugi was in the back getting an ordered item for a customer.

"Hey," Yami called, attempting to scan a video game. "I don't think Bakura is here right now."

"Really? He left before me though," Marik mumbled, moving to sit on top of the counter next to the cash register.

"Get off! There are people here!" Yami scolded, finally scanning the item. "That'll be 4215 yen, sir. I apologize for this man's rude behavior." The man chuckled, handing the money over. Marik merely ignored him, as usual.

"Where could he have gone?" he asked nobody in particular, crossing his arms as he thought. "He shouldn't be that mad at me that he wouldn't come back."

"What did you do to make him mad?" Yami asked, bagging the video game and waving as the man left the store. By now, Yugi was back from the back and was scurrying around the store, cleaning and helping people, but not really listening to the yami's conversation.

"I don't know, actually," the Egyptian replied. "I think he was mad that I got some tea for Ryou."

"Tea?" Yami asked, leaning across the counter to flip through a stack of Duel Monsters cards.

"Yeah. You know, he's British and I saw some tea, so I figured I would get him some. Then Bakura got all mad at me for it."

"I don't know what to tell you," Yami said, putting down the cards. "He'll come back eventually. Until then- Hey wait! How do you know where Ryou lives?!"

"Uh...I don't! See you later, pharaoh!" Marik exclaimed, jumping up as he realized he probably shouldn't have told him that if he wants to visit Ryou again. He raced out of the shop, not really sure where to go. But something was telling him that he should be worried about Bakura.

OoOoO Ryou is out of the Bathroom Now! OoOoO

Malik was standing in the doorway watching Ryou sip from his tea cup slowly. The poor Brit was still shaking and glancing at the door every few seconds, making sure that a certain ancient spirit wouldn't appear.

"Ryou?" Malik asked, causing Ryou to flinch before smiling up at his friend.

"Sorry about all of this," he said in his soft voice. "I guess I just wasn't expecting it."

"It's ok," Malik said, sitting down on the couch and putting a comforting hand on his best friend's shoulder. "I just want to make sure you're ok."

"I'll be fine eventually," he replied. "Once the shock wears off. But what are we going to do now? He knows where we live..."

"Maybe we should talk to him?" Malik asked quietly. He expected Ryou's immediate response.

"No! There's no talking to him! He's insane! He's evil!" Ryou screamed, almost spilling the tea he was holding.

"Shouldn't we give him a chance to explain himself?" Malik muttered. Then he got an idea. It was a little tricksy to do to his best friend, but it was for his better good. "If we figure out how he got here, then maybe we can figure out how to send him back." Ryou stopped shouting, pulling away from the taller Egyptian and quietly thought to himself for a few seconds. Then he turned to Malik slowly, eyes wide.

"We can send him back," he said, as if the idea hadn't occurred to him before. The thought of sending Bakura back made Malik's heart clench up, but he smiled nonetheless, hiding the hurt.

"Yeah, but we need to figure out how they got here, which means talking to him," he said. "Do you think you can do that?"

"I don't know..."

"You've got to try, Ryou! I know you can do it!" Malik smiled wide, giving Ryou his best confident grin. "You've got to make him think like you'll forgive him so he'll let his guard down and tell us the secret. Do you think you could give that a shot?"

"Malik..."

"Please, Ryou? For me?" Malik mumbled, giving him a puppy dog face.

"Fine."

"Oh Ryou! You're the best!" Malik screamed, jumping up and tackling the white haired man in a hug.

"Why do you want this so bad?" Ryou muttered, half hugging his friend back, a worried expression frozen on his face.

"I want us to get back to our normal lives," he lied, smoothly. "Now let's call Yugi and tell him the plan."

OoOoO Bakura! Don't do it! OoOoO

He recognized this place instantly. Ryou had come here at one point, throwing the Millenium Ring off of the bridge and into the water. He thought it would sink away and make his life better. Of course, the ring always found its way back to him. But that was in the past.

Bakura didn't come here to throw anything. No. He was here for a different reason.

He looked down into the water, far below the bridge, and stared at the rocks on along the edge. _Would it hurt? Hitting those rocks on the way down?_

There's only one way to find out.

OoOoO Back with Malik and Ryou! Malik just finished his call with Yugi! OoOoO

"He's gone?" Ryou gasped. "Where would he go? Why wouldn't he be there? It's dark out! He should be there by now! What if he's out killing people?"

"I don't know, but someone has to go find him," Malik replied, grabbing his coat and shoving it on. "You know, to make sure we can send him back to the shadow realm or something."

"I don't think I can do it right now, Malik...please don't go!"

"I have to! You said yourself, he could be out there killing people!" Malik said, trying to freak Ryou out on purpose. He needed to get going now. He had a bad feeling about Bakura, and he didn't think it involved killing people. But something inside told him to be scared for his ex-partner in crime. "I'm going, Ryou. I'll be back."

"Be careful," Ryou shuddered, gripping his tea tightly. Malik ran out the door, headed for the main parts of town first.

OoOoO Marik is lost...wow. OoOoO

"Have you seen a white haired man around here?" Marik asked yet another clueless person. "He's really pale. I've been looking for awhile."

"No, I'm sorry," the elderly woman said. "I've been in this park for about 45 minutes now and I don't recall anyone of that description."

"Thank you anyways, ma'am," Marik bowed, a frown clear on his face as he turned and ran in the other direction. He'd been around most of the places he knew and by now was in a park he didn't recognize at all. But the fact that he was lost meant nothing to him. The feeling that something bad was happening to Bakura was growing and he was so scared. He just had to find him, even the ex-spirit was mad at him for some crazy reason.

Of course it would be hard to find someone when you don't even know where you are.

"Jeez. Navigating an ancient tomb is easy. This is shit," Marik huffed, trying to figure out a way out of this maze of a park. He had to find Bakura! "Please, Ra! I know I've done some crappy things in my life, but please! Send me something to help! I'm scared!"

Then he heard something that made him stop dead in his tracks.

"Bakura!" someone called, way off in the distance. That voice was easily recognizable to him. It was the only voice he had known for the longest time. But why would Malik be out looking for Bakura? He followed the voice until he found the smaller Egyptian running through the park and yelling loudly and began to follow him as he kept running.

"Thank you, Ra," Marik smiled. _I'm coming, Bakura._

OoOoO Bakura no! OoOoO

He was sitting on the edge of the bridge, feet dangling. He didn't want this, but it seemed like the only option. All he ever did was hurt people and now it was really coming back to bite him in the ass.

All he could see was Ryou's shaking form, trying to get away from him in the hallway. But he deserved it. He deserved all of it.

He looked off into the water and then...slipped off of the edge, heading straight for the cold depths below.


	15. Chapter 15

**Sorry for the late chapter! I'm trying my best to have time to write...but I've been cleaning everything in the house getting ready for the baby and moving the animals around so that the cat and dog can get used to their new rooms. And my Tuesday night Parenting classes started back up and I've got two different showers being planned. AND one of my mice is sick, but the older one just died and it's been hectic in this house lately! Omygosh! **

**Anyways, I'm sure you guys don't care about my busy life XD Here is the new chapter! Warnings would include attempted suicide and depressive thoughts again. But don't worry! I'm going to try to end it on a good note this time. How many chapters are left? I don't know~**

* * *

OoOoO Last time! OoOoO  


He was sitting on the edge of the bridge, feet dangling. He didn't want this, but it seemed like the only option. All he ever did was hurt people and now it was really coming back to bite him in the ass.

All he could see was Ryou's shaking form, trying to get away from him in the hallway. But he deserved it. He deserved all of it.

He looked off into the water and then...slipped off of the edge, heading straight for the cold depths below.

But he didn't make it very far before he felt a tight grip on his wrist and arm. He looked up, confused as to why he stopped falling.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" a loud Egyptian screamed.

"Malik?" Bakura asked, confused. "What..?"

"Give me your other hand! Hurry!" Malik yelled, trying his best to pull up the ex-spirit. Unfortunately, his height advantage wasn't helping much. "Please, Bakura!"

"Let go," he huffed in response, narrowing his eyes.

"No!"

"Let go, dammit!" Bakura yelled, clearly angry now. "Just let me go!"

"Do you really think this is the only solution? What could possibly drive you to this?" Malik sighed. He knew he couldn't hold on much longer, but if he didn't start talking Bakura into taking his hand, he wouldn't be able to pull him up.

Bakura clenched his teeth, looking away as he swayed in Malik's clutch.

"Did you see his face? What other reason do I need?"

"He wasn't ready, Bakura! He doesn't know that you're different now!" Malik tried to explain, but Bakura didn't let him finish.

"And would you forgive Marik if I told you he was different?" Bakura knew that he never would. He had been connected to Malik when Marik kicked him out of his own body and he knew how angry Malik was during that time. He could feel the hate from him.

"Th-that's different..."

"Yeah it is! He's like a fucking 8 year old! Super annoying and super happy all the time! But it doesn't matter because you'll never get over what he did to you. Like...Ryou will never get over what I did to him. Now let me go, now!"

Malik hadn't expected that. A happy eight year old? No way. Bakura was just trying to get him to let go.

"You're lying! Give me your frigging hand, Bakura! We'll figure something out together!"

"I'm not lying."

"Fine! I'll talk to him if you just give me your hand!"

"Swear it," Bakura hissed, glaring to let Malik know he was serious.

"I swear! Come on, Bakura!" Malik could practically feel Bakura slipping through his fingers now.

Bakura hated this. He just wanted to drop down and let everything slip away, but his newly found "good heart" wanted the best for his friend, Marik. So he decided to bare with his self loathing to help Marik.

He reached up with his free hand, grabbing on to Malik's other hand, and waited for the Egyptian to start pulling him up. But after a few tugs, he wasn't going anywhere.

"I can't do it! I'm not strong enough!" Malik was getting hysterical now. He'd finally convinced Bakura to give him his hand, but it had taken too long and he'd used up too much strength trying to hold him up. It was too late now! "Bakura! I-I can't pull you up!"

"Well that's just great..." Bakura sighed.

"You just got back...I don't want to lose you..." Malik was shaking now, trying to hold on as best as he could. He could feel Bakura starting to slip again, no matter how hard he held on and tried to pull. "No! No no no! Please!"

He was just about to slip, when another hand shot out from behind Malik, grabbing Bakura's shirt and pulling him up over the edge. Malik was stunned, having not expected that. He really thought he was about to lose Bakura and it would be his own fault. Before he could stop himself, he did something he hadn't done in years because he always tried to be stronger than he really was. He started sobbing, covering his eyes and sinking to the ground.

Bakura rubbed his back side where he had been dropped as soon as he was pulled back over the edge. He'd recognized Marik's hand instantly and he immediately felt ashamed. No doubt Marik would be furious with him, even if he was practically an eight year old in the head.

"Malik, stop crying," he sighed, looking over at the smaller of the Egyptians in front of him. "I'm fine." He was surprised when Malik launched himself forward, throwing his arms around the pale man.

"How could you do that?!" he cried out. "You're such an idiot! I hate you!" Bakura merely rolled his eyes, knowing that Malik was just being over dramatic and was upset right now. He was just glad that Malik hadn't noticed his yami, who was still standing around awkwardly, glaring at Bakura. He motioned for the tallest Egyptian to leave before it was too late, but Marik merely shook his head and stood still. Looks like he didn't trust Bakura to be on his own right now.

"Malik, get off. I'm not going anywhere," Bakura sighed, patting Malik's shoulders gently. "He's not going to let me."

"Who?" Malik asked, sitting back and rubbing his eyes. Bakura sighed, rubbing his forehead with one hand and using his other hand to point to the taller of the three. Malik turned, not knowing who to expect, but he certainly didn't expect to see his yami. He backed up slowly, eyes wide.

"Don't freak out," Bakura muttered, leaning back against the bridge wall. "Jeez, I'm tired."

"Well, attempting suicide takes a lot out of you, idiot!" Marik mumbled, turning enough to glare at Bakura.

"I-I'm going to go..." Malik said, eyes still wide as he stared at his larger counter part.

"Oh, no you don't!" Bakura huffed. "You said you would talk to him."

"I didn't know he was going to show up right now!" Malik yelled, backing up slightly. Bakura stood up and pinched Marik's cheek (a little too roughly in Marik's opinion).

"Look at him! He's harmless as a rabbit!" he exclaimed. Marik pulled out of Bakura's hands, rubbing his cheek and pouting.

"Don't be mean! I'm here to save your stupid ass," he growled. "Besides. You're the one who looks like a fluffy bunny."

Malik was still staring, but now it was because it seemed Bakura was right. Marik wasn't talking about stabbing people or sending his friends to the shadow realm. Now he was calling Bakura a frigging fluffy bunny.

"A-are you really a child?" he asked, nervously.

"No...but yes?" Marik replied, shrugging. "I mean it makes sense, but I don't feel like explaining it right now. I just feel like punching him for being so stupid!"

"I'm sorry!" Bakura yelled. "Can we move on?"

"No!" both Egyptians replied, glaring. Bakura sighed, rubbing his temples tiredly.

"How am going to be able to handle both of you at the same time?" he asked nobody in particular. He didn't see Marik's mischievous smirk.

"Oh you don't want to handle me, but you definitely want to handle him," he said, chuckling. Malik's face lit up red, which just caused Marik to laugh more. "And by the looks of his face, he wants you to handle him!"

"Marik! How immature can you be?" Bakura growled, slapping him over the back of the head.

"Very," he replied, completely serious.

"You really are different," Malik said, rather randomly, but perhaps he was just trying to change the subject, because his face was still red.

"I told you," Bakura nodded. "Although I'm not sure it's for the better all the time. I'm different too, but he spent a lot longer in the shadow realm than I did."

"I'm glad," Malik said, standing up now. He seemed to have composed himself from the crying episode now. "I wouldn't want you to be too different."

"Aw!" Marik cooed.

"Oh, shut up!" Bakura growled, launching himself at the taller and attempting to strangle him. Malik merely smiled awkwardly. This was certainly different from anything he would ever expect, but if Marik isn't a murderous psychopath, all of his problems just disappeared. Well, most of his problems.

Now, his only problem was the way his heart fluttered when Bakura turned to him and smirked.

That was a new problem that he had no idea how to fix.


	16. Chapter 16

**Coming to a close guys! A few more! Hang with me! **

**I've just posted a new story called To Catch a Pirate. It's a tendershipping fic that I just started since this story is closing soon. I hope you check it out if you're a tendershipper! **

**This is a long chapter, guys! By far the longest in the story! :) Review if you'd like! Reviews help me update faster.  
**

**Anyways, here is the chapter! This will be fluffy before we get a little emotional again. Thanks for sticking with me! **

* * *

Malik reluctantly went home. Marik insisted that he would take care of Bakura and make sure he wouldn't do anything stupid. Malik didn't believe him at first, but then the taller Egyptian pulled out a pair of random handcuffs and quickly attached them to Bakura's left wrist and his own right wrist. Bakura didn't seem to enjoy this, but neither of the stubborn Egyptians was going to leave him alone about it.

Anyways, Malik got back to his shared apartment and sunk into the sofa, letting out a heavy sigh. He had to figure out some way to get Ryou to talk to Bakura calmly. How though? Ryou wouldn't ever hear the word 'Bakura' and be able to think rationally. But then again, he never thought he would see his own yami without freaking out. But after a few minutes, he knew that he was truly harmless.

"I can't believe I talked to him..." he sighed, rubbing his eyes with his palms.

"Talked to who?" Ryou asked, appearing from the kitchen with a fresh cup of tea. "D-Did you find him? Had he hurt anyone yet?"

That's right! Ryou thought he was going to find Bakura because he was getting into trouble. They had a plan to try and talk to him civilly so they could find a way to send him back to the shadow realm. Perfect!

"He didn't hurt anyone and I made sure that he made it back to Yugi's," Malik explained. "And I told him we want to help him because we understand him. He wants to talk to us tomorrow so he can explain why they're here. Then we can figure out how to send them back, right?"

"I- um...yes I guess that's a good idea." Ryou looked extremely nervous, but Malik knew this was for his own good. He knew that Ryou was haunted by his memories of Bakura and if he realized that he wouldn't have to worry anymore, he would feel better. And Bakura would feel better. Everything would be better!

"I'll call Yugi and see if I can talk to him," Malik said. "We'll figure out a good meeting time."

"O-Ok," Ryou sighed, visibly shaking slightly. "Be careful please." Then he walked away to their room, leaving the door cracked open slightly like he always did when he was alone in a room. Malik knew it was because he was scared. In fact, Malik usually does the same thing.

But as he looked up at the ceiling, leaning back into the sofa, he smiled. He didn't feel scared. He'd always jumped at the smallest sounds or cringed if a shadow moved on the wall. Now he felt so at ease and content, knowing that his greatest fear is no longer a threat to him. And he wanted Ryou to feel the same way as soon as possible.

So he jumped up and ran for the phone.

* * *

Bakura was laying down on his bed at the game shop, glaring intently at the Egyptian handcuffed to him.

"I swear, if you don't take these off, I will cut your hand off!" he growled, narrowing his eyes dangerously.

"I don't believe you," Marik chuckled, almost in a sing song voice. "They aren't coming off until you tell me what's wrong."

"What's wrong is I'm chained to a fucking idiot!" he huffed angrily, swinging his arm in a dramatic fashion as Marik's arm flopped around.

"You know what I mean," Marik replied, unshaken by Bakura's outburst. "Just tell me and I'll unlock us and we can go to sleep. What were you doing on that bridge?" Bakura was silent for a long time, thinking about how to answer. He certainly didn't want to tell anyone what he was truly feeling inside, especially to the childish man in front of him. But he didn't want to remain handcuffed to him either.

"You know how it feels, too," Bakura finally sighed, lowering his hand so that it covered his eyes. "You feel terrible about everything but there's no way to completely prove yourself. They'll always watch you too closely because they remember who you were and not who you are. You're lucky though. You've got this whole thing about you now where you're a fucking childish idiot and so nobody can judge you too harshly. But I'm still an asshole. There's no way I could possibly make people believe that I'm different."

"Yugi thinks you are," Marik replied. He did know exactly how Bakura felt, but he also knew that he had the advantage of being a 'fucking childish idiot'.

"Yugi trusts everyone, even those he shouldn't," Bakura pointed out. "The only reason Malik talked to me was because we worked together for so long that I have no reason to hurt him. He hates me though. Thinks I'm evil."

"No he doesn't," Marik said, laughing. "I know him more than anyone else does. I know how he thinks. He definitely doesn't hate you. Definitely." Bakura scoffed.

"Saving me doesn't mean anything," he said.

"Well did you see the way he looks at you? I followed him for awhile before he found you and he was really freaked out and worried," Marik continued, still not removing the handcuffs. "He cares about you, Bakura. A little more than he wants to admit. I was born from his brain. I know these things."

"You're an idiot."

"A fucking childish idiot. I thought we established this already," Marik replied, sticking his tongue out. "But that doesn't mean I'm wrong."

"Whatever. Uncuff me." Marik pulled out the key and was about to unlock the cuffs when there was a quiet knock on the door.

"Guys? The phone is for you," Yugi called from outside the door.

"Jeez. It's late! Who's calling at this time of night?" Marik asked, standing up to open the door. Bakura growled lowly as he was forced to stand up as well because Marik still hadn't undone the handcuffs.

"Marik, I'm going to kill you in your sleep," he grumbled as Marik opened the door to accept the phone. Yugi chuckled at Bakura's threat, something he would have freaked out about before.

"Um, why are you guys handcu- oh nevermind," Yugi shook his head, heading back down the hallway. Marik held the phone up to his ear.

"Helloooo?" he asked. After a pause, he turned and handed the phone to Bakura. "He wants to talk to you instead. Rude, if you ask me. He's already talked to you a lot!"

"Jealous, Marik?" Bakura chuckled. "Who the hell is it?"

"It's Malik! Just take the stupid phone!" Marik huffed, puffing his cheeks out like a fucking childish idiot.

"Fine, fine!" Bakura said, taking the phone. Before Malik could have a chance to talk, he immediately said, "Hey, Malik! Can you get him to take these damn handcuffs off of me before I strangle him?"

"No. Now listen to me. I have a plan," Malik said, unfazed by Bakura's outburst.

"Oh because your plans worked so well before, right?" he laughed.

"Shut up! This is a good one for your benefit," Malik insisted. "Trust me. It's the only way to get Ryou to talk to you." Bakura's interest peaked at that.

"Ryou?" he asked, rather quietly and weakly.

"Yeah, now listen," Malik said. "I told him that we were going to try and talk to you guys about why you're here again. That way we can figure out how to send you back."

"He wants to send me back?" Bakura expected this, but was extremely hurt nonetheless.

"For now, but once he talks to you and realizes that you really aren't here to kill him, he'll warm up to you. I promise."

Bakura didn't know how to feel. On one hand, he didn't want to see Ryou again just to scare him. But on the other hand, if there was any chance for redemption, then he would do it. He knew that Ryou has been terrified this whole time, so it would be good for him to realize that there's nothing to be scared of anymore. Yes. He would do it for Ryou's own good.

"So what's the exact plan?" he asked slowly.

"Well we need to meet sometime tomorrow," Malik replied, thinking as he talked. "He'll be pretending to be your friend at first, but he'll warm up to you."

"Right. Where do you want to meet?"

"Ryou's favorite bakery, Le Creame? It'll put him at ease to be in a familiar, public place," Malik explained. "Plus, he really likes the cream puffs."

"Good idea," Bakura nodded, approvingly. "Should I bring Marik?"

"Umm, yes," Malik said after careful thought. "If he sees I'm facing my demons than he'll be more willing to face his." Demons...Bakura shuddered at the word.

"Ok, so lunch time?" he asked, trying to forget about demons.

"Yes, 1pm is good," Malik said, then suddenly, his tone changed. It was as if he was suddenly really nervous about what he was saying and not sure if saying it was even a good idea. "A-And Bakura?"

"Yes, Malik?" Bakura noted the change in his friends voice and began to analyze the reason for his tone.

"Y-you're ok now, right?" he asked. Malik was truly worried about Bakura and that scared the white haired man. Why would someone be so worried about him? He felt Marik tap on his shoulder and he turned to look at him, holding his hand over the phone so Malik couldn't hear.

"He cares about you," Marik whispered. Bakura shook him off and held the phone to his ear again.

"I'm fine, Malik," Bakura told him, trying to sound as sincere as possible. "I'm sorry for scaring you."

"I wasn't scared!" Malik insisted. "See you tomorrow!" Then he hung up quickly. Bakura huffed and tossed the phone onto the bed before plopping down again. He heard Marik chuckling.

"He cares more than he wants to admit," he smiled, laughing. "I'm always right, aren't I?"

"Shut up."

* * *

Bakura insisted that they get to Le Creame early, maybe because he was so nervous. For some reason, Marik didn't appear as nervous (although we know that's because Marik already met Ryou yesterday). He was pacing in front of the booth they had chosen to sit at and Marik was just watching him go back and forth, his chin resting on his palm.

"Bakuraaa, calm down," he sighed. "You're making me dizzy."

"I don't know what I'm expecting to happen," Bakura growled. "This is such a bad idea."

"You're going to freak him out if you don't sit and calm down!" Marik insisted, getting tired of waiting. He hadn't really wanted to come here so early, but he still wasn't letting Bakura out of his sight. He'd reluctantly taken the handcuffs off of his friend last night before going to sleep, although his sleep consisted of staring at his friend and making sure he didn't do anything stupid while Marik slept.

"This is such a bad idea!"

"Oh my god," Marik huffed, dropping his head on the table. But as soon as he did, he heard the bells by the door ring and looked up quickly. He smiled as he saw a tall Egyptian scurry in, followed by a slightly shorter, pale Brit. He stood up and waved to get their attention.

Ryou looked extremely nervous and worried. When he saw sudden movement, he jumped in surprise, but then he noticed it was just Marik, he seemed to calm down slightly and smiled. Marik was actually really excited. He'd brought two pieces of chocolate, one for Ryou and one for Malik, laughing to himself at the inside joke he had with the smaller Brit. Bakura was still pacing around the table, oblivious to the two walking in. Malik smirked, deciding to play a little joke. He walked up behind the pacing ex-spirit quietly and at the last second-

"Bakura!" he yelled, pretty loudly.

Bakura almost touched the ceiling with how high he jumped from the surprise. He turned, glaring at the smiling Malik.

"M-Malik," he growled. "I could kill you." Out of the corner of his eye, Bakura noticed Ryou stiffen up at the mention of killing. Malik noticed too.

"He's only kidding, Ryou," he said, patting his friend's shoulder. "Now come on. Let's sit down." He took his seat across from the empty seat at the table and Ryou sat across from Marik. Bakura took a deep breath to try and calm his nerves and sat down across from Malik.

"I ordered for us," Marik piped up, happy to be surrounded by these exact people. "A coffee pot, a tea pot, and a plate of cream puffs for the table." Ryou instantly perked up at the sound of 'cream puffs'. This caused Marik to chuckle lightly to himself.

"So then, what are we going to talk about?" Bakura asked, trying his best to appear confident. But then of course, he didn't want to appear rude and standoffish because he was trying to get Ryou to warm up to him. But he had no idea how to be kind an confident at the same time. He was so deep in thought about how to best appeal to Ryou that he didn't hear Malik's response.

"Bakura?" Malik huffed, getting the white haired man's attention. "You alive in there?" Bakura frowned at Malik's loud voice.

"Yeah, yeah," he muttered. "I was just thinking is all. Where the hell is the coffee?" Ryou got visibly nervous again as Bakura cursed, so Marik gave the smaller a smile to try and lighten him up.

"It'll be here!" Malik sighed. "Now listen. I said that we should just spend time trying to get to know each other again before we get down to business."

"Malik, each of us knows the other almost better than we know ourselves," Bakura sighed, rubbing his temple. "What? You want to do small talk or something?"

"Well if you know everything, then what's Ryou's favorite color?" Malik asked, smirking. He didn't expect Bakura to answer so quickly.

"Blue."

"Oh...well what about his blood type?" he asked, thinking he had him on that question.

"AB."

"Jeez! What about his least favorite food? I mean we all know his favorite, but even I don't know his least fav-"

"Raw oysters," Bakura said with a huff, looking rather bored. Malik turned to Ryou who merely nodded in surprise.

"He's right," he muttered, a little freaked out by all the things Bakura knew about him. But at that moment, a waitress came by with a tray. She smiled at Ryou, having recognized him and Malik.

"Hi, Ryou! Malik!" she said, setting down the four cups and placing the drinks and creampuffs in the center of the table. "When I heard you guys were coming, I put some extra chocolate sauce on top."

"Thanks, Miki," Ryou said, pouring himself a cup of tea and giving her a shy smile. Marik saw this little smile and frowned just slightly. _Why does she get a smile from Ryou?_ _I'm the one that bought the things!_

"See you guys later," the girl, Miki, chuckled, waving to Malik and Ryou. _Good ridance, _Marik growled to himself. Then, he turned back to Ryou, who was blowing on his tea as he added sugar and milk.

"Will I like these creampuff things?" he asked Ryou, pouring himself a cup of coffee and adding a good amount of sugar. Bakura expected Ryou to be too scared of the ex-psychopath, but Ryou smiled at the Egyptian instead of getting scared.

"If you like that much sugar in your coffee, then you'll probably like them," Ryou said, doing his best to ignore how intensely Bakura was glaring at Marik.

"Do you two know each other?" he finally asked. "Because I don't remember that ever happening. And I remember everything."

"Well actually, we talked yesterday," Marik said, smiling sweetly at his friend. "Is that a problem, Baku?" Malik almost spit out his own coffee at the unfortunate nickname.

"Baku?!" he asked, doubling over in his chair.

"Trust me. I don't like it," Bakura growled.

"Here, Baku," Malik said, still laughing loudly. He grabbed a creampuff off of the plate and held it up. "Try this."

"No, no. I really don't think I-"

Before he could do anything to stop it, Malik shoved the little confection into Bakura's mouth. The ex-spirit coughed, powdered sugar exploding from his mouth.

"Ra! That's way too sweet!" he heaved, trying to swallow the puffy pastry. He had chocolate sauce smeared across his lips and Ryou really couldn't stop himself. He started chuckling slightly, but as he watched Bakura angrily trying to dump tea on Malik's head, he found himself giggling louder and eventually, he was full out convulsing with laughter. He looked up and saw Marik smiling at him.


	17. Chapter 17

**Yo! Ok, so this is fluffy fluff chapter full of fluffy stuff. I don't even know what's going on in this chapter. It's just necessary fluff to get to the ending. It's such a crap chapter in my opinion because deathshipping, for me, is really dark. We can't really have dark deathshipping with an adorable Marik...so crap chapter is crap.  
**

**I know that I skipped a lot of weeks of Ryou getting to know Bakura, but I didn't have time to write that out...so I skipped it because I'm lazy! I might write a oneshot about the two weeks I skipped later...let me know if you want that.  
**

**Also, in this chapter, there's a lot of talk about analyzing stories and poems, something I love doing. Everyone I know says I remind them of Ryou so it kind of became my head cannon that analyzing lit was fun for him too. I hope you don't mind my random head cannon!  
**

**Enough author note! Enjoy! Review!**

* * *

It's been two weeks now and not many days had gone by where the two yami's and their lighter counterparts didn't meet.

They went shopping, to movies, out to eat. They even went bowling one time! Which resulted in a losing, angry Bakura and a winning, gloating Marik, so they probably won't do that again any time soon. The two ended up wrestling across the lanes. Bad idea.

Ryou hated to admit it, but after the first two meetings, he had stopped jumping every time Bakura cursed and he seemed to stop shaking as much too. He really was warming up to the man who had caused him so much pain in his childhood. But looking at Bakura now and comparing him to the old Bakura, the only similarity was the rude kind of sarcasm he tended to use. Ryou found himself enjoying the outings with his yami. He laughed more than he had in ages and he could sleep calmly at night without the terrible thoughts of 'what could be hiding in the dark'. It was such a free feeling. Sometimes he thought he was being too trusting, but when he saw Malik laughing with Bakura, then he felt that it was ok to trust his dark. Plus, Malik seemed to trust his own dark too and that was something nobody ever expected.

Speaking of Malik's yami...Ryou really enjoyed spending time with Marik.

He found out that they had a lot in common. He liked teaching Marik all of the things he didn't know, like how to work the tv or how to cook Japanese and English foods. But more than anything, he enjoyed teaching Marik how to read. Now yes, Marik knew how to read but Ryou was teaching his how to read critically and analytically, something Marik found himself loving. They read through so many stories and classics, discovering why people would write certain things and how language and words affect the way you perceive certain stories.

Ryou even let the taller Egyptian borrow his favorite books, which he read in record time. His favorite seemed to be Edgar Allan Poe, which Ryou had a lot of.

On this particular day, Bakura and Marik had come over to their hikari's apartment, but the ex-thief and the Egyptian hikari left as soon as Ryou pulled out a book shaped, wrapped present for Marik. ("Great! Now he's got a new book nerd to geek out with!" Malik growled jokingly, pulling Bakura out the door.)

Marik had wrapping paper flying every where as he tore into the golden paper, acting like a kid at Christmas despite it just being one present. When he pulled the book out of it's pretty confines, he didn't know what to say. A Collection of Classics by Poe.

"I thought you'd want your own copy," Ryou muttered, nervously. "You know, so you can make notes or mark the pages you like." Marik still didn't know what to say, and although he was really tempted to throw himself at Ryou and squish him in a bear hug, he decided that the shy Brit would probably freak out. So instead, he flopped down on the sofa and immediately scribbled his name (in Arabic) on the inside cover. Then, he started reading, leaving Ryou to chuckle and pull out his own book to read, The Secret Garden.

About 20 silent minutes went by. Silent, but comfortable. Then, Marik's voice broke the peace with a question.

"What does he mean by '_Through the red-litten windows see, Vast forms that move fantastically, To a discordant melody'_?"

Ryou closed his book, after memorizing the page number he was on and scooted closer so he could see the page Marik was on. He remembered that particular line. It was from a poem titled 'The Haunted Palace'.

"What do you think?" Ryou asked with a smile. Marik frowned, more like a pout. Ryou always tried to get him to think through these kinds of questions himself because he said the students should always learn how to work through their problems.

"I don't know! That's why I asked you!" Marik huffed. Ryou gave him a pointed look and Marik sighed, underlining the three lines in question and reading over the poem again. "So there are two windows?"

"Yes," Ryou nodded. While Marik was busy studying the lines of poetry, Ryou was slowly moving closer to Marik. Their legs were only separated by a few inches now. The taller just looked so warm and he wanted to lean against his sun kissed skin and see if it really was that warm to touch. "What else has two windows? Think really hard." Closer...closer...

"Oh, I got it!" Marik yelled, jumping up. Ryou had to resist sighing as all of his hard work in inching closer was flushed down the drain. "Windows to the soul! Two eyes!"

"Very good," Ryou chuckled, pulling Marik back down to the couch and pointing to a line in the third stanza. "Now in this line, the windows, or eyes, are luminous or bright. And here, they are red. Also, think about the word 'discordant'."

"Discordant..." Marik muttered to himself. "Disagreeing. Unpleasant to hear. Is that right?"

"That's right," Ryou nodded, taking the time to start moving closer to the ex-spirit again. Marik was engrossed in his musing and still didn't notice. Closer...closer...

"I don't know!" Marik exclaimed, jumping up yet again. Ryou hit his palm against his forehead. This childish idiot is clueless!

"There are several theories," he said, recalling different discussions he'd had with teachers about this poem. "My favorite is called MPD."

"MPD?" Marik asked, turning around and facing Ryou. He still didn't sit down though, much to Ryou's distress.

"Multiple Personality Disorder," Ryou continued. "It's when one person has more than one personality and they switch around. It often comes from a traumatic experience that a person can't deal with so they make up a different person to deal with it for them. It's kind of scary because you can forget what happens while the other personality comes out."

Marik went silent, sitting down slowly with a frown firmly in place. Ryou was confused by the sudden change, but didn't say anything. He had a sneaking suspicion what was wrong though. Finally, after several minutes of quiet thought, Marik spoke and Ryou found out that he was right.

"Like Malik?"

"Um...probably," Ryou sighed, not wanting to lie but also not wanting to upset Marik. He seemed so fragile now in comparison to when he was a strong, murderous psycho. "But that doesn't mean anything. In fact, its a good thing, right? Otherwise we wouldn't be here right now enjoying each others company."

"But am I discordant?" Marik asked, turning to look Ryou in the eyes. He seemed so sad. Ryou looked away, the sadness being too much for him to bear. He still didn't want to lie though. He was never good at it anyways.

"Well, you used to be," he said, trying to say it as gently as possible. "You used to be scary and mean. I didn't see you very much, but I've heard a lot about what I missed from Malik and the others. But now, you're different...resplendent."

"I don't know that one," Marik said, chuckling nervously at the way Ryou was looking at him.

"Oh. Um, it means shining and bright," Ryou replied, looking away to try and hide his blush. He didn't know why he was acting like this. He had simply meant to enjoy Marik's company tonight while reading quietly, but now he just wanted to make Marik smile again. He always seemed to be so happy and childish, so now when he looked so sad, it really hurt.

"Shining like a light?" Marik asked, frowning. "But I'm darkness." Ryou sighed.

"I don't know how to explain better than this," he said, trying to choose his words carefully. "You probably don't know why Malik and I live together. But it's because nobody knew what we were going through. We had to stay together because we were scared of the dark. Our lighting bill is probably the highest in the city. But we didn't care because we just didn't trust the dark."

"I-"

"Hold on, I'm not done!" Ryou said, sticking his tongue out playfully. "Now listen. These past few weeks have been different for us. I've felt the change immediately. At first I thought it was because you two weren't in the shadow realm anymore. We didn't have to think you were in the shadows of our room because you were alive at the game shop. But then I realized that that wasn't exactly true. We were different because our past monsters, don't exist anymore."

"But we do," Marik protested.

"Will you take a look at yourself? You're the friendliest person I've ever met! That first day I saw you playing with those children, there was no doubt in my mind that you are definitely not some evil psychopath. I've faced the facts now. There's no doubt in my mind that Bakura could trick me into trusting him again, but you're a different story. You would've found no pleasure in tricking people, unlike Bakura. You just went straight for the kill. And now, here you are worried about Malik. It's amazing. You're amazing!"

Ryou stopped talking, realizing that he'd started ranting a little bit and accidentally told Marik that he thought he was amazing. His face heated up as he looked up and saw Marik smirking at him with a playful glint in his eyes.

"You think I'm amazing, huh?" he asked, leaning in closer to the blushing man in front of him.

"I-I just meant that the w-way you care about M-Malik is amazing..." Ryou tried to cover for himself, but it didn't appear to be working as Marik's smirk widened.

"Of course, Ryou dear," he chuckled. "You're amazing too, you know." Ryou did his best to ignore the 'dear' and instead focused on the second part of what was said.

"No no. I'm really not," he said, picking up his book and was going to open it, but Marik pulled the book away from him and tossed it away from them. "Hey-"

"Yes, you are," Marik insisted, looking serious again. "You are kind. You see the good in everyone. You have a smile that lights up everything around you."

"M-Marik-"

"You're too humble for your own good and people take advantage of you all the time. But despite that, you're the strongest person in the entire world, I'm sure. I could keep going on, but your face is so red, I think you might have a fever."

Ryou was sure that he had a fever because his face felt as hot as the sun right now. He didn't think very highly of himself so hearing all of these compliments, especially coming from the Egyptian he was really starting to have feelings for. But he couldn't think about that...there's no way he'd ever have the courage to admit that he was feelings this way. Too many things could go wrong and he was too shy. Who would ever want to be in a relationship with such a pansy? Nobody that's wh-

Ryou's thoughts were cut off by a pair of lips pressed gently against his own. His eyes widened and he pulled away quickly, covering his mouth in surprise.

"W-what are you doing?" he gasped out. Marik was laughing softly, his arms crossed.

"You looked like you were over thinking everything, so I decided to distract you," he said truthfully. "Besides, your face is really cute when it's all red like that."

"B-but-"

"Oh hush! You talk to much!" Marik laughed before launching himself forward and latching his lips to Ryou's yet again.

* * *

**Told you. Crap chapter is crap. I'm better with thiefshipping, trust me. So be excited for the next chappie!  
**


	18. Chapter 18

**This is officially the second to last chapter so I made it a little longer! The next chapter will be the last! Ahhh! I'm trying to get these out quickly, but if you've kept up with me...**

**THIS IS THE MONTH OF MY DUE DATE! Whew. Freaking out a little bit, but I can't wait to have my baby. Goodness. I need my own body back because I can't get to sleep at all with all of these leg cramps and achy back problems. Plus, she'll be adorable!  
**

**Anyways! Please enjoy! This is a nice chappie filled with some of my thiefshipping feels! Hurray! **

**(P.s. If you would please review, as I am coming to close of the story, it would make my day!) **

* * *

"And this was your plan?" Bakura asked, eying the Egyptian walking next to him.

"Hey! I didn't have much of a plan! I didn't know Ryou was going to be bringing books with him!"

They'd been walking around the park for about a half hour now. Just in circles. Around and around. People who were sitting on benches were beginning to look at them suspiciously, so Bakura decided to take charge.

"Let's at least go sit in a cafe or something," he huffed, stopping in his tracks and crossing his arms. "We're freaking people out."

"A cafe? That seems more like a place for Ryou," Malik chuckled. Bakura frowned. He rather liked cafes. They were quiet and you could watch people walk by. He used to watch people in Egypt, but there, it really wasn't acceptable and I'd had to run on multiple occasions. Thankfully, Malik pulled me from my thoughts now. "I like cafes. Let's go."

Of course, Malik grabbed a hold of Bakura's hand and started dragging him off towards the nearest cafe. Bakura rolled his eyes, but allowed the overly excitable man to lead him down the road. After only a minute, they reached their destination.

"Um...Malik?" Bakura mumbled.

"Yes?" Malik asked, heading towards the door.

"The hell is this place?" He'd never been here before, but he was sure that a cafe called 'Cat' couldn't be that good.

"You've never been to a cat cafe?" Malik asked. "Then this will be even more fun than I thought!" He reached back and grabbed Bakura's hand, yet again, and pulled him through the door before the ex-spirit could object.

The first thing that Bakura saw when they stepped in, was a small white cat right in front of him. _Well that can't be good for the food here._

"Hello!" a chipper woman called from the counter. She was stroking a large, tan cat and had a book in her other hand. "Might I interest you in our coffee special today?" Malik rushed to the counter, leaving Bakura to stand in awe at the door. He'd never seen so many cats in one place. They were every where! From the tables, to the chairs. There were even cat posts around with more cats hanging on those.

"Bakura, do you want a tea or a coffee?" Malik called from the counter. Bakura couldn't take his eyes off of the small white cat there, but he answered anyways.

"Tea," he said. It was no wonder why Malik liked it here. Cats were considered sacred in Egypt, especially back in Bakura's time. There was no house that didn't want a cat, because a cat meant you were blessed by the gods. If that held true, then this was the most sacred place in all of Japan.

"Come and sit over here!" Malik called from the side of the cafe. He had chosen a table next to three cat posts. Two lazy looking cats sat on the edge of the table, one with wild, white fur and one slightly larger with tan fur. Malik reached out and stroked the white cat, a fond smile on his face, but as soon as he touched it, the cat looked at him in a sort of glare. It was one of those cats with a squished up face that always looked angry.

"Kura! It looks like you!" Malik laughed, as soon as Bakura sat down. He frowned, looking at the angry cat. But the cat merely frowned back, practically mirroring his expression.

"I don't see it," he huffed. Malik rolled his eyes, but ignored the moody tone.

"I ordered two tea cakes and two cream puffs to go," Malik said, his voice bubbling the way it usually did. "Those are for Marik and Ryou." It's funny. Usually, Malik's voice would be irritating to Bakura. He could distinctly remember hating that grating tone of voice in his head during the Battle City Tournament, but hearing it now was so different. Ever since he "returned from the dead", Bakura's usual reaction to Malik had changed.

Especially after that night on the bridge.

He'd hit an all time low at that point, but ever since then, he'd been spending time with Ryou and Malik. He did his best to make Ryou comfortable around him, and despite how he appeared, he was always nervous around the jumpy Brit. Eventually, Ryou seemed to get used to Bakura's random swearing and harsh tone. He even laughed about it sometimes!

When Bakura noticed this, he began to relax around his..._friends_? He still felt weird using the word and he would never, ever say it out loud. Especially to Marik. The crazy Egyptian would never let him live it down. But is this truly what he felt? That these three were his friends?

Let's see. He and Marik had the most in common after going through the shadow realm experience together. So he supposed that merited being..._friends_. He and Ryou had shared a body for years, so they had a lot in common. That made them _friends _right? Especially now that they could be around each other without Ryou having a heart attack.

But then there was Malik.

Yes, they'd shared a body for a short amount of time, but they were at each others throats through the whole ordeal. In fact, if he had to guess, he'd say that Malik had hated him then and was just using him. Now he acted a lot different. But then again, so did everybody else. Everyone was different.

So what kind of friendship did Bakura have with Malik? He certainly enjoyed the violet eyed Egyptians company, but in a weird way. He felt at ease around Malik and didn't need to worry about making an impression. He wasn't sure why, but he just knew that Malik wouldn't be angry at him for cussing or saying rude things. He just laughed, like he'd been thinking the same things.

"What's got you thinking so hard, Kura?" Malik's voice shook him from his deep thoughts.

"Nothing," Bakura replied, gruffly. He looked up and noticed that the teas and cakes were already on the table. The tan cat was looking at his tea cake, so Bakura stuffed it into his mouth quickly and glared triumphantly at the cat. "What's with this place anyways?"

"I can't understand you with your mouth full," Malik said, taking a bite of his own tea cake. Bakura swallowed and asked his question again. "It's called a cat cafe for obvious reasons. It's for people who can't have pets in their apartments and want to go play with some cats for awhile."

"A bit unsanitary, don't you think?" Bakura asked, watching as Malik affectionately stroked the white cat.

"Not at all," he replied. "They take extra precautions. Come on. Pet that tan one. It seems to like you!" The tan cat had in fact slowly inched closer to him, staring with wide eyes. When the ex-spirit refused to pet it, the cat arched it's back and rubbed its face against Bakura's arm.

"It looks like you," Bakura huffed. "And it's clingy like you, too."

"Hey!" Malik yelled. "I'm not clingy!"

"You held my hand the whole way here," Bakura retorted, pushing the cat away. It was pointless though, as it merely crawled back over and pushed it's fuzzy, tan head against his arm again.

"That's because you didn't know the way," Malik replied, crossing his arms in denial. In truth, he knew he was rather clingy. He had been since that night on the bridge. He was just a little scared that Bakura would disappear again. He would never admit it to the other, but he would text Yugi every night to make sure that Bakura was still there. Sure, maybe he was overreacting. It had been over two weeks since _that _happened, but he hadn't felt that scared in a long time. Not since Odion had been almost killed because of him. But that had been because of Marik too. This time, Bakura had been so close to death because he couldn't pull him back up without help. Thank the gods that Marik was there or else...

"Your face just changed. What are you thinking about?"

"Huh?" Malik asked, looking up and realizing that this time, he had zoned out quite a bit. "Oh, nothing."

"Mhm, sure. Now tell me what's wrong," Bakura frowned, absentmindedly picking up his hand and resting it on top of the tan cats head. It purred happily and wiggled around.

"I...just don't really like being scared," Malik sighed, resting his chin on his palm gently and sighing. "It's nothing, though. Really." He was sure that the other would immediately make fun of him for being weak, but was surprised.

"Well, what are you scared of?" Bakura asked, completely sincere. "Maybe we can fix it." When Malik didn't answer, only gawked at him with wide eyes, he frowned. "What? I'm trying to be helpful here!"

"Usually you would make fun of me for being a wimp," Malik explained, glancing away. He didn't want to admit what he was scared off. That would definitely give Bakura a reason to pick on him.

"What are you scared off?" Bakura asked, narrowing his eyes. Although with his hand resting on top of a very happy kitty, he didn't look all that threatening. But Malik sighed and thought of a way to word it.

"Being alone," he said. "But for a different reason than before. I started living with Ryou because we were afraid that if we were alone, you guys would come back. But now, I'm afraid that..." He stopped. How would Bakura react to this? Saying that he was scared like this was practically a confession!

_Wait...a confession? What? Am I in love with him? _

_Am I..? _

_Oh shit._

"Malik! Finish your damn sentence!" Bakura growled, getting frustrated. He was getting a bit worried over the way the usually loud and erratic Egyptian was acting.

"I'm afraid you'll leave!" he snapped. His face was turning red as he looked away, choosing to instead look deep into his cup of tea. "Like one day, I'll just wake up and...you'll be gone."

Bakura had to admit, he hadn't been expecting that. He wasn't sure what he'd been expecting, but certainly not that. He stayed silent for a few seconds and then surprised himself by what came out of his mouth.

"I could move in with you."

Malik's head snapped up, eyes wide and his face still red. "What?"

"You heard me," Bakura sighed, leaning back and crossing his arms. The tan cat looked up, upset that he was no longer being rubbed. "That would keep you from being scared, right? If we're around more often."

"...if _you _were around more often," Malik mumbled, so quietly that Bakura couldn't hear.

"What?"

"I said, if _you _were around more often!" Malik sighed, dropping his face into his hands to hide his blushing face. "Just you. I know it sounds bad of me, but I could care less about Marik. I'm just worried about you all the time because...I've never been so scared in my life then when...when you..." He couldn't even finish the sentence, so instead he looked up at Bakura, tears threatening to fall. "I thought you were going to die, Bakura."

"Hey, don't cry!" Bakura called out. At first, Malik thought he was about to start making cracks, but one look into his eyes showed that Bakura was actually very worried. "I'm not going anywhere. Come on. I'll come stay at your place. Besides, I'm starting to hear the puzzle freaks through the damn walls."

"Y-you're not going to make fun of me for crying? For being a wimp?" Malik asked. He jumped up and reached his hand across the table, putting his palm to Bakura's forehead.

"The hell, Ishtar?" Bakura asked, swatting the others hand away.

"You don't have a fever, do you?"

"No! It's my fault you're scared in the first place," Bakura muttered, rubbing his temples gently as if to soothe a headache. "I didn't mean to scare you, so I'll make it up to you."

"I-I..."

He was really at a loss now. Bakura actually cared? Sure, he'd changed since he had returned from the dead, but this? He was actually showing that he was worried about Malik and wasn't feeling emasculated. He was going to go out his way to make Malik feel better, and that was the most meaningful thing he could do.

"Cat got your tongue, Ishtar?" Bakura asked with a smirk. That seemed to break the tension and everything went back to normal. Well, as normal as two ex-spirits having a cup of tea at a cat cafe next to some cats that happened to resemble them could be.

**OoOoO Walking home! OoOoO**

The walk was pretty quiet until they got to the apartment complex. That's when Bakura decided to break the awkwardness.

"You seem to like cats," he said, his hands stuffed into his jean pockets.

"Mhm," Malik nodded, not looking at his companion as he just kept walking. Bakura sighed deeply. His attempt to break the awkward...made it more awkward. Ok then. A different tactic.

"What do you do at Kaiba's?" he asked. _Wow. Dumb topic, idiot! What the hell!__  
_

"Do you really want to know?" Malik asked. "It doesn't seem like your type of thing."

"What is that supposed to mean!"

"You know. Honest work." Malik was still looking down as he walked so Bakura couldn't see his mischievous smirk spread on his face.

"I can do honest work! I just choose not to because I'm good enough not to!" Bakura huffed, crossing his arms.

"Calm down, Kura," Malik laughed, finally looking up so Bakura could see his face. "I was just joking. Jeez!" Bakura felt his angry glare soften as he watched Malik laugh. Maybe moving in with him wouldn't be that bad. They'd have to tell Marik and Ryou and ask their opinions on the big move. Maybe they'd been rushing into this. Perhaps if they waited a few more weeks and between that time they could just make sure to hang out every day to easy Malik's wor-

Malik opened the door and the silence that ensued was deafening.

Ryou was laying on top of Marik, their books laying on the ground forgotten, and they didn't seem to realize that they had company now. Maybe that was because they were too busy tasting each others tongues.

"You know, something tells me they won't mind a move," Bakura muttered, crossing his arms while giving the oblivious duo an angry glare.

"At least they still have their clothes on," Malik shrugged, not sure what else to say.


	19. Chapter 19

**Last chapter! Super short because all of my ending chapters are short...I can't believe it! I actually wrote this story pretty fast. I might do a little one-shot sequel if people want me to, but it'll just be random crap. Let me know! :P  
**

**To all my silent readers, please leave a little review just to tell me if you liked it or what I did wrong. It would mean a lot! **

**Now I'm still writing the tendershipping fic (To Catch a Pirate) and I'll be planning a new thiefshipping story because I need thiefshipping in my life...so wait for that. When I get near the end of TCAP, I'll start posting that. **

**Thank you for all of the support! :) Enjoy!**

* * *

_3 Years Later  
_

"Oh shut up, asshole!"

"You shut up, buffoon!"

"Buffoon is the best you could come up with?"

"I can't think fast enough! You have to give me time!"

Ryou was sitting on the couch in his best friends new apartment...and by sitting on the couch, I mean sitting on Marik who was sitting on the couch. And of course, his two best friends were arguing as usual. Apparently, one had wanted to watch a documentary on Egyptian artifacts (Malik) and the other wanted to watch Psycho (Bakura). And now, they'd seem to completely forget about their guests as the wrestled around the floor, fighting for the remote.

"Do you think they'll wear out soon?" Ryou asked, turning slightly to look at Marik, who was busying himself with reading on his new kindle fire. Ryou had received it for Christmas, but really preferred the feel of books. Marik, on the other hand, loved the technology and thought it "more magical than the shadow realm" that he could get any book he wanted at any time. Ryou more than happily handed it over.

"Not likely," Marik replied, turning off his kindle in favor of wrapping his arms around Ryou's waist. "They never seem to run out of energy."

"And to think, they're the ones that got married first," the white haired man laughed, leaning back against the taller. "Even before Yugi and Atem did. Yet they act like this."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Malik had apparently over heard the last part of the conversation, as he was currently sitting on Bakura's back, who was face down and still scrambling for the remote that was laying a few inches from his hands.

"You two tend to be a bit on the childish side," Marik replied with a slight chuckle.

"And that's coming from you? At least we can go a few hours without having to find a bed!" Malik laughed loudly.

"Hey! Sex is good for a relationship!" Marik exclaimed rather loudly, causing Ryou to blush and slap a hand to his forehead. Unfortunately, while Marik was distracted, Bakura took the opportunity to flip himself over, throwing the Egyptian to the side as he grabbed the remote.

"HA!" he exclaimed, changing the channel before taking the batteries out and throwing them across the room. Ryou rolled his eyes heavily before standing up to stretch and retrieve the batteries.

"You're both absolutely ridiculous," he said with a sigh.

"But you love us," Malik said, smiling up at the Brit, still laying on the floor. Ryou only nodded in reply as he sat back down. This time, he opted to sit next to Marik rather than on him. Marik pouted at this, but Ryou only giggled at his expression.

**OoOoO Later OoOoO**

Malik and Ryou had gone to grab dessert from the kitchen, leaving the two yamis to watch the next horror movie that came on after Psycho (it happened to be Saw II, just so you know). They were quiet for a few moments, but Marik decided to say something that had been on his mind for a long time now.

"We're lucky," he muttered, eyes not leaving the tv screen.

"Yeah, I know," Bakura replied. He'd been thinking of the same thing lately. A lot had changed in just three years. For example, his hand felt heavier with a ring that had been there for almost a year now. And he hadn't stolen the rings! He actually bought them with money he saved up from helping out at the game shop. "It makes you wonder why."

"I like to think that the gods give second chances," Marik said. "Well, this is my second chance. It's probably your fifteenth." Bakura rolled his eyes, but he had to agree. He'd done more than enough to deserve hell, and here he was. A happily married man with a new life.

"What did we do to deserve this?"

He hadn't meant to say it out loud, but he did. And Marik didn't have an answer. Nobody did and maybe they never would. But it didn't matter. Everything was in the past now.

Bakura had gone through counseling to deal with his guilt and depression. After a year (and a few pills), he had stopped having depressive episodes. But it was all because of Malik's dedication to him. He never left him alone for long and was there for him any time he triggered. After being so close and hearing each others insecurities, it was only natural for them to be so close that they became the first married couple. (Yugi and Atem followed shortly after, though that's another story.)

Marik had gone to class after class so he could catch up on schooling. He learned so fast, that now he was already in college and about to get a degree in English Lit by the next year. He wanted to become a writer and Ryou was more than supportive. Yes, getting into the writing business was difficult, but he had faith and was glad that he and his boyfriend had books in common.

It had all ended very well. Despite how rocky it had been (what with Bakura's depression and Ryou's anxiety), they were finally on the path to a long life with friends and people they love.

It just goes to show you. Anyone can have a happy life, no matter how difficult their life may be. So never give up hope. Always remember that someone out there cares for you more than you know. There's always something new to learn about your passion. And the gods will always give you a second chance...or a fifteenth.

* * *

**That's it! Super cheesy and left a few things open because I could do little one-shots based off of it. Like I could do one about thiefshipping marriage proposal (because it's super cute in my head) and I could do one about how the puzzle-couple happened (because I didn't talk about them often) or other things like that. :) Let me know! **

**Sorry if my ending disappoints because usually when I write a story that gets a fair number of followers, I disappoint in the end. XD  
**

**Review, and stayed tuned for the next Thiefshipping/Deathshipping story I write. Because I love them. **


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